Turkey: Coal Imports Down 7% M-o-M in Jan'20
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Coal imports by Turkey have registered a drop of 7% on the month, whilst it continued the rise Y-o-Y for the fourth successive month during Jan'20.
Data provided by customs indicate that the import volume had come down to 3.98 MnT in Jan'20 as against 4.3 MnT in Dec'19, but was 16% higher on the year from 3.44 MnT in Jan'19.
The increased coal intake Y-o-Y reflected heightened utilisation of plants running on imported coal, rather than lower-grade domestic material, due to the new environmental standards imposed on the country's lignite-fired plant fleet since the start of the year.
Consequently, higher coal imports were taken in order to compensate for some of the losses in lignite based power generation.
A grade-wise break-up showed that imports of non-coking coal crossed the 3-MnT mark for the fourth straight month during Jan'20. Although the intake was down 12% M-o-M to 3.15 MnT in Jan'20, but had recorded a 13% growth Y-o-Y from 2.78 MnT in Jan'19.
Pet coke was the second-largest traded commodity, whose intake rose 124% on the month to 0.38 MnT in Jan'20.
Coking coal imports fell to a 3-month low, with intake of 0.31 MnT in Jan'20. Incidentally, no shipments from Australia were recorded in the month.
Grade-wise Coal Imports
| Grade | Jan'20 | Dec'19 | % Change |
| Non Coking Coal | 3.15 | 3.56 | -12% |
| Pet Coke | 0.38 | 0.17 | 124% |
| Coking Coal | 0.31 | 0.44 | -30% |
| Anthracite | 0.07 | 0.03 | 133% |
| Met Coke | 0.07 | 0.1 | -30% |
| Total | 3.98 | 4.3 | -7% |
Source: Turkish customs
Quantity in MnT
Major Coal Exporters:
Coal supplies from the chief exporter-Colombia was down 7% M-o-M to 1.88 MnT in Jan'20, but had increased 44% Y-o-Y from 1.31 MnT in Jan'19.
Russian coal exports also exhibited similar trends during the month, as it deceased 8% M-o-M, while rising 16% Y-o-Y to 1.38 MnT in Jan'20. US was the third-largest coal exporter in Jan'20, with supplies of 0.55 MnT.
