Coal supplies from Russia to China to return to 100 mln tons starting 2025 — minister

VLADIVOSTOK, September 9. /TASS/. Coal exports from Russia to China lost 8% in the first half of this year to 45.5 mln tons, whereas the Russian Energy Ministry expects supplies to return to the level of at least 100 mln tons starting next year, Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov said in an interview with TASS at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).
“In the first half of the year coal exports from Russia to China decreased by 8% to 45.5 mln tons. We are on the plateau now, with no sharp growth expected. <…> Starting 2025 we expect supplies to China to grow most likely to the level of at least 100 mln tons per year,” he said.
The export dynamics is affected by duties on Russian coal imposed by China, a drop in global prices, as well as coal producers’ supply and production costs that have risen in recent several years, the minister explained. China also tries to remove the imbalance in energy due to investing in renewable energy sources, which is why the demand for thermal coal may go down in 2025, he added.
In 2023, coal exports to China exceeded 100 mln tons, while in 2022 coal supplies amounted to 67 mln tons. Moreover, it has been reported that Moscow and Beijing are developing an intergovernmental agreement on coal supplies to the republic in the amount of 100 mln tons.
The Eastern Economic Forum took place on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok on September 3-6. The main theme of the EEF this year was ‘Far East 2030. Combining strengths to create new potential’.
The EEF is one of the largest international conferences in Russia. It has been held in the Primorsky Region’s Russky Island in Vladivostok since 2015. The forum’s objectives and goals include promoting the accelerated growth of Russia’s Far East region; assessing its potential for exports; expanding international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region; showcasing the investment appeal of the region, its steadily progressing territories, and the Vladivostok free port.
The Roscongress Foundation has served as the Forum’s organizer since 2016. TASS is the general information partner of the EEF.