South Korea: Coal Imports Up 6% Y-o-Y in CY17

According to the data provided by customs, South Korea has recorded a growth of 6% in yearly coal imports, as the country has received 150.45 MnT coal during CY17 (Jan’17-Dec’17) against 141.42 MnT in CY16 (Jan’16-Dec’16).

South Korean coal imports had been lower during the last quarter of the year (Oct’17-Dec’17); still the country had managed to surpass the import total of CY16.

Monthly Coal import in Dec’17 had fallen on the Y-o-Y basis only for the third time during the year. Imports had fell 12% Y-o-Y to 12.47 MnT in Dec’17 compared with 14.10 MnT in Dec’16, but were 7% higher on the month compared with 11.69 MnT in Nov’17.

South Korean coal demand had been supported by the nuclear reactor outages which had affected the energy supply in the country. Coal-fired power plants were called upon to fill the void created by nuclear plants, due to which coal buying from the country had increased.

Grade-wise Coal Imports:
Non-Coking coal imports, on the back drop of their strong demand from power plants had increased 14% Y-o-Y to 107.2 MnT in CY17 compared with 93.82 MnT in CY16.

Coking coal imports on the other hand had almost remained unchanged and was recorded at 24.75 MnT in CY17.

Among the other major coal grades, import of Anthracite had fell 28% Y-o-Y to 6.52 MnT in CY17, whereas Pet coke and Met coke imports was firm during the year.

Source: South Korean customs
Quantity in MnT

Major Coal Exporters:
Australia remained the major coal supplier to South Korea in CY17, and was the only country among the top 7 coal exporters which has witnessed fall in coal exports during the year.

Australian coal export was down 9% Y-o-Y to 48.34 MnT in CY17 compared with 53.31 MnT in CY16. Indonesia came at second, followed by Russia, Canada, South Africa and the US.

South African coal export saw significant growth during the year, the country had supplied 8.04 MnT in CY17, which was 244% more than the export of 2.34 MnT in CY16.

Source: South Korean Customs | Quantity in MnT

Future Outlook:
According to the Australian Resources and Energy report, South Korean coal demand is expected to remain solid in 2018, as the introduction of new coal-fired power capacity is likely to outpace capacity being retired or temporarily closed.

The report further suggests that the coal consumption tax imposed by the South Korean government and moral suasion to push power generation companies in order to limit air pollution will encourage the country to import higher quality coal (high energy, low ash). Thus coal markets of Australia, Colombia and Russia are likely to be benefited at the expense of Indonesia (which has got lower grade coal compared to the above nations).