After Vietnam’s coal imports had surged to a record high in the first half of the year, Q3 2020 witnessed a decline in both volume and turnover of the coal imported. However, the import volume in the third quarter still showed a significant increase as compared to the same period last year.
According to statistics of the General Department of Customs, by the end of the third quarter of 2020, Vietnam has imported more than 44 million tons of coal, total turnover of more than USD3 billion. As compared to the same period in 2019, the volume of imported coal rose by over 11.9 million tons, equivalent to an increase of 36.9%; meanwhile, the import turnover only rose by about USD160.7 million, equivalent to an increase of approximately 5.5%. As can be seen from the above figures, the average value of each ton of imported coal this year is much lower than the same period last year. Specifically, the average value from the beginning of the year to the end of September was just about 69.5 USD/ton, down about 23 USD/ton as compared to the same period in 2019 when the value was about 90.1 USD/ton.
If only three months of the third quarter were taken into consideration, the volume of imported coal was more than 13.3 million tons, total turnover of over USD845.7 million, of which, the import volume in July reached nearly 4.4 million tons with the turnover of about USD266.9 million, down 30.2% in volume and 36.2% in turnover as compared to the previous month. In August, the amount of imported coal increased by more than 730 thousand tons, which was about 16.7% higher than the import volume in July, reaching the output of more than 5.1 million tons, approximately the average import volume in the first half of this year. The turnover of coal imported in August also rose by about 24.2% over the previous month, reaching approximately USD331 million. However, in the last month of the third quarter, the volume of imported coal continued to decline sharply, equivalent to only 75% of the import volume in the previous month, specifically, more than 3.8 million tons with a turnover of over USD258 million.
The three largest import markets of Vietnam’s coal continued to be Australia, Indonesia, and Russia. These are also the three leading coal suppliers of Vietnam in 2019 and the first half of 2020.
According to data from the General Department of Customs, Australia was the largest coal supplier toVietnam in the third quarter of this year. Especially, Australia also led in the amount of coal supplied to Vietnam in all three months July, August, and September with the output of more than 1.2 million tons, more than 2 million tons, and more than 1.9 million tons respectively. The total turnover in the third quarter was more than USD381.7 million, accounting for about 45% of the total import turnover of the country. From the beginning of the year to the end of the third quarter, Australia was also the country that exported the most coal to Vietnam; accumulated import volume by the end of September reached more than 15.9 million tons, total turnover of over USD1.3 billion.
Ranked second in terms of coal supply to Vietnam in the third quarter of 2020 was Indonesia with an output of nearly 3.7 million tons, total turnover of over USD153.9 million. In particular, the amount of coal imported from the Indonesian market in July and September was second only to Australia with the output of nearly 1.4 million tons and more than 1 million tons, respectively. In August, with an output of more than 1.2 million tons, total turnover of approximately USD47.8 million, Indonesia was surpassed by Russia and dropped to the third position in the list of the largest coal suppliers to Vietnam. Accumulated from the beginning of the year to the end of September, the amount of coal imported from Indonesia reached more than 13 million tons, total turnover of over USD612.9 million.
Russia was the third biggest import market of Vietnam in the third quarter of this year with the output in July, August, and September of more than 538.7 thousand tons, more than 897.1 thousand tons, and more than 465.5 thousand tons, respectively. The total volume of coal imported from Russia in the third quarter was more than 1.9 million tons, total turnover of over USD 142.3 million. Accumulated from the beginning of the year to the end of September, coal imported from Russia to Vietnam reached more than 6.2 million tons, total turnover of over USD494.7 million, equivalent to approximately 14% of total output and 16% of total turnover of the coal imports of the country.
VietnamCredit
Source: The General Department of Customs
