Australia’s coking coal exports were recorded at 12.43 mnt in Jan’22, down by 6.3 % m-o-m and 6% y-o-y.
The fall in exports was due to limited production in Australia as the more-than-average rainfalls recorded for the past three months due to La-Nina weather pattern have hampered the operations at the key mining areas of Queensland.
Top importing countries
India was the largest importer of coking coal from Australia at 4 mnt, up by 1% m-o-m. Following this was Japan with 2.74 mnt, down 21% m-o-m and South Korea at 1.63 mnt, down 19% m-o-m.
Limited production in Australia has caused a sharp rise in coking coal prices. This reduced demand from exporting countries. However, India recorded a marginal rise m-o-m, but the country’s exports in Jan’22 was lower than the 2021’s monthly average of 5 mnt.
As per company-wise exports in Jan’22, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance supplied 5.11 mnt, German Creek at 0.68 mn t and Jellinbah at 0.65 mnt.
Port-wise exports
The Haypoint Port exported 3.78 mnt of met coke, up by 20% m-o-m. Exports from the Port of Gladstone were 3.5 mnt, down by 20.5% and those from DBCT Port were at 3.15 mnt, down 5.7% m-o-m.
Outlook
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that there will be an unusually high rainfall from February to April in Queensland. Thus, CoalMint expects that coking coal production will remain hampered in Australia which may keep exports rangebound in February.
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