Russia has not yet found alternative buyers of coal - its exports fell by 9%
Since the beginning of this year, Russia has reduced coal exports by almost 9%, Petr Bobylev, director of the coal industry department of the RF Ministry of Energy, said at a round table in the State Duma.
“Unfortunately, today we see a decrease in export volumes, especially at the end of March and April, the figure is significant - more than 20%. Since the beginning of the year, this is almost 9%,” he said.
At the same time, according to the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, coal consumption in the domestic market has increased - in the second price zone of the electric power industry (Siberia).
In early April, the EU banned the import of coal from Russia as part of another package of sanctions, the ban will come into force in August. Until August 10, 2022, the parties will be allowed to fulfill contracts concluded before April 9, 2022. The annual volume of coal imports to the EU has recently amounted to 8 billion euros.
The Russian authorities have previously talked about the possibility of redirecting exports through seaports to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov said last week that the volume of coal exports from Russia sank slightly, mainly due to the situation with the ports of the North-West.