Indonesian coal production and exports have both recorded a fall of 9% y-o-y in 2020, primarily due to Covid-led lowered energy demand and slowed steel production. This slack in demand especially from its key destinations like China, India and South Korea caused the thermal coal prices to fall significantly and touch new lows; countries like Vietnam and Thailand took advantage of this and ramped up their thermal coal imports from Indonesia.
On the other hand, their coking coal exports to China more than doubled in the year partly due to China’s rising hostilities and import ban from Australia; while exports to Japan and India grew modestly.
The decrease in production and exports, notwithstanding, it is being predicted that Indonesia, a relatively young producer compared to Australia and the US, would soon be able to elevate its production and export capacity of coking coal.
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