Dry Bulk Market: Indonesia Coal Exports on the Rise This Year

Coal exports from Indonesia have been growing this year, with China ramping up its imports. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “global coal trade has really picked up pace over the past year, and is now fully back to pre-Covid levels. In Jan-Aug 2024 the positive trend continued, with global coal loadings increasing by +2.5% y-o-y to 900.7 mln t, from 879.0 mln t in the same period last year, based on vessel tracking data from AXS Marine. In Jan-Aug 2024, exports from Indonesia increased by +8.3% y-o-y to 345.3 mln t, whilst from Australia were up +3.3% y-o-y to 232.6 mln t. From Russia exports declined by -14.1% y-o-y to 110.7 mln t in JanAug 2024, from the USA increased by +6.0% y-o-y to 59.4 mln t, from South Africa declined -4.1% y-o-y to 38.9 mln t. Shipments from Colombia increased by +12.0% y-o-y to 39.6 mln t in JanAug 2024, from Canada down by -0.3% y-o-y to 32.6 mln t, and from Mozambique were down by -11.2% y-o-y to 14.0 mln t.”

According to Banchero Costa, “seaborne coal imports into Mainland China increased by +11.6% y-o-y to 267.8 mln t in Jan-Aug 2024, to India increased by +9.5% y-o-y to 165.6 mln t, to Japan declined by -7.3% yo-y to 100.5 mln t in Jan-Aug 2024. Shipments to South Korea declined by -6.4% y-o-y to 75.2 mln t, to Vietnam surged by +24.9% y-o-y to 40.1 mln t, to the EU down -38.2% yo-y to 39.9 mln tonnes, to Taiwan declined by -3.9% y-o-y to 38.4 mln tonnes in Jan-Aug 2024. Indonesia is the world’s largest seaborne exporter of coal, accounting for 38.3% of the global seaborne coal market so far in 2024”.

It added that “export volumes from Indonesia were relatively depressed during 2020 and 2021, due to disruption from Covid19 and from government policies favouring domestic consumption, but bounced back to an all-time record high in 2022, and continued to grow further in 2023. Total seaborne coal exports from Indonesia in 2022 reached 448.8 mln tonnes, +7.9% y-o-y, according to AXS Marine vessel tracking data. In 2023, coal exports from Indonesia increased further by +10.2% y-o-y to 494.6 mln tonnes.

The vast majority of Indonesian coal exports are loaded in East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan (the island of Borneo), with some volumes also shipped from southern Sumatra island. The main coal export terminals in Indonesia are: Taboneo/ Banjarmasin (66.5 mln t loaded in Jan-Aug 2024), Tanjung Bara (28.3 mln t), Muara Banyuasin (25.5 mln t), Muara Berau (24.8 mln t), Balikpapan (24.8 mln t), Muara Pantai (24.3 mln t), Samarinda (21.0 mln t), Bunati (19.6 mln t), Adang Bay (13.3 mln t), Senipah Terminal (13.3 mln t), Tanjung Pemancingan (11.5 mln t), Muara Satui (9.1 mln t), Sangkulirang (9.0 mln t). The majority (49%) of coal volumes from Indonesia in 2023 were loaded on Panamax vessels, with 31% on Supramax vessels, 11% on PostPanamax, and just 8% on Capesize tonnage”.

The shipbroker added that “China continues to be the top importer of Indonesian seaborne coal exports, accounting for 41.3% of shipments in Jan-Aug 2024. In Jan-Aug 2024, shipments from Indonesia to China increased by +5.4% at 142.8 mln tonnes, following a +47.9% y-o-y surge in the same period of last year. About 21.4% of exports, or 74.0 mln tonnes in Jan-Aug 2024, were shipped to India, representing a rebound of +20.7% y-o-y.

However, this follows a -22.3% y-o-y decline in the same period of last year. Shipments to the Philippines have also increased by +8.6% y-o-y to 25.4 mln tonnes in Jan-Aug 2024, with the Philippines accounting for 7.4% of Indonesian exports. Exports to Japan increased by +6.4% y-o-y in Jan-Aug 2024 to 17.9 mln t, with Japan accounting for 5.2%. South Korea imported 17.2 mln t of coal from Indonesia in Jan-Aug 2024, up +2.6% y-o-y. Malaysia received 16.1 mln tonnes, down -6.5% y-o-y. Last but not least, exports to Vietnam surged by +37.3% y-o-y to 16.2 mln t in Jan-Aug 2024”, Banchero Costa concluded.

Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide