Japan Yearly coal imports decline by 1% to 197.19 MnT in CY16.However; Coal Imports have risen by 2% Y-o-Y.
Japan, Second largest coal importer in the world, has recorded a decline in its yearly coal imports. Japan received 197.19 MnT in CY16 down by 1% compared with 199.24 MnT in 2015. Although, Coal Imports have increased by 2% to 16.88 MnT in Dec’16 compared with 16.53 MnT in Dec’15. As per data released by Japan Customs.
Grade-wise Coal Imports:
Out of various grades of coal, Japan mainly demands bituminous coal for operating its power plants. Bituminous coal import account for 60% of the total coal received. Other grades include Coking Coal, Coke and semi-coke, Petroleum Coke, Anthracite and others.
In CY16, Japan received 130.03 MnT bituminous coal down by 2% compared with 132.55 MnT in 2015. Coking coal imports were increased by 6% to 43.35 MnT in CY16. Coke & semi-coke imports saw major downfall by 22% to 2.26 MnT from 2.88 MnT in 2015.
| Grade | 2016 | 2015 | %Change |
| Bituminous | 130.03 | 132.55 | -2% |
| Coking | 43.35 | 40.85 | 6% |
| Coke and semi-coke | 2.26 | 2.88 | -22% |
| Anthracite | 5.83 | 5.86 | -1% |
| Petroleum coke | 0.45 | 0.41 | 10% |
| Others | 15.27 | 16.69 | -9% |
| Grand Total | 197.19 | 199.24 | -1% |
Source: Japan Customs
Quantities in MnT
Coal Imports in 2016:
Coal accounts for 23% of Japan’s total energy consumption and 27% of the country’s electric generation capacity. Japan’s coal consumption expected to grow even further as its nuclear power capacity is replaced with coal-fired power plants following the Fukushima accident in 2011.
However, Japan’s coal imports for power generation fell in CY16 after 4 years of successive record high owing to rising supplies from renewable energy sources and some nuclear plants return to service in 2016.
Coal imports have fallen by 1% M-o-M to 16.88 MnT in Dec’16 compared with 17.09 MnT in Nov’16.
Major Exporting Countries in 2016:
Australia, Indonesia and Russia were recorded as major coal exporting countries in CY16 followed by USA, Canada, China and Others. The top three countries account more than 80% of the total coal supplies to Japan in CY16.
Coal exports from Australia fell by 2% to 121.57 MnT in CY16 compared with 124.33 MnT in 2015.
Indonesia, second-largest coal supplier to Japan in 2016, exported 32.4 MnT down by 1% compared with previous year.
Russia, however, managed to improve its coal supply to Japan from the previous year with a recorded growth of 7% from 16.82 MnT in 2015 to 17.96 MnT in the current year.
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