According to the vessel line-up data maintained by CoalMint research, South African coal exports from premium coal terminal RBCT (Richards Bay Coal Terminal) in the month of Jan’2020 have registered quite an insignificant rise of 0.3% M-o-M basis from 0.68 MnT in Dec’19 to 0.69 MnT in Jan’20.
South African coal exports to India has increased from 3.89 MnT in Dec’19 to 3.98 MnT in Jan’20 whereas that of Pakistan plunged from 1.12 MnT in Dec’19 to 0.93 MnT in Jan’20. The highest increase in South African exports were registered in case of Srilanka and Vietnam as the same stood at 0.72 MnT (up by more than 200% M-o-M) and 0.28 MnT (up by more than 300% M-o-M) respectively. The country’s exports to Bangladesh have registered a fall of 32% m-o-m and stood at 0.11 MnT in Jan’20.
In the month of Jan’2020, the highest exports from South Africa to India were received at Gangavaram port (0.89 MnT) followed by Krishnapatnam (0.44 MnT) and Dhamra port at 0.33 MnT.
If we make a y-o-y comparison, the South African coal exports in Jan’19 stood at 5.17 MnT with exports to India at 1.90 MnT followed by Pakistan at 0.89 MnT and Korea at 0.45 MnT.
Increased focus on the Asian market
South Africa’s main export harbour is at Richards Bay and the terminal was initially developed for coal exports to Europe. However, this trade has slumped in recent years as countries such as Britain, the Netherlands and those in Scandinavia have increasingly shut coal-fired plants in favour of cleaner-burning natural gas and renewables such as wind and solar.
With decreased exports to Europe, the country is now focusing more on the Asian market. Although the South African coal is a bit costlier, it is of higher quality as against the Indonesian coal and has a significant freight advantage over similar grades of coal from Australia, and from more distant suppliers such as the United States and Colombia.
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