Mongolia’s coal exports hit an all time high in CY18. The landlocked Asian country exported a total of 35.76 MnT coal in CY18, up 8% Y-o-Y from 32.99 MnT in CY17.
Mongolian coal sector has been revived by the growing coal exports to China. Ever since the country was forced to replace North Korean coal shipments which were barred in 2017 by international sanctions in the wake of nuclear weapon tests.
Export during Nov’18-Dec’18 was rather subdued, affected by the import restriction placed in by China in the later part of CY18.
Mongolian coal export in Dec’18 was recorded at 2.4 MnT, down to its lowest total since Feb’18.
A break-up of Mongolian coal export indicates that nearly 99% of the total share was supplied to China. Chinese imports had increased 10% Y-o-Y to 35.36 MnT in CY18 against 32.29 MnT in CY17.
Singapore (0.16 MnT), Hong Kong (0.13 MnT) and the UK (0.1 MnT) were the remaining coal importers from Mongolia in CY18.
Mongolian coal exports have continued to be constrained due to transportation bottlenecks; however, a new plan for rail link from the Tavan Tolgoi mine to the Chinese border has the potential to boost exports with additional 20 MnT by the mid-2020s.
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