In this article, we will take a look at the Top 20 Coal Importing Countries in the World. You can also check out Top 20 Coal Exporting Countries in the World for our discussion on the dynamics of global coal exports.
Coal is one of the most commonly used fossil fuels all over the world with its uses ranging from electricity generation to steel making. Despite understanding its adverse implications for the environment, its importance does not seem to be decreasing. The global coal mining market was valued at $648.04 billion in 2023, and it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6% to reach a valuation of $795.76 billion by the year 2032.
While some countries recognize that a change needs to be made, others still heavily rely on it as their main source of energy generation due to its lower cost. A single metric ton of coal can produce up to 2,200 kilowatt-hours of electricity. In comparison, natural gas can only produce 99 kWh per 1,000 cubic feet, and a barrel of fuel oil can produce up to 578 kWh – explaining the heightened coal demand in 2022, wherein, it hit the 8 billion tons mark.
Coal power accounts for 37% of the world’s electricity production or the equivalent of 44,000 terawatt-hours of electricity. Along with this, as discussed earlier, steelmaking takes up a lot of metallurgical coal, which has higher levels of carbon than thermal coal. Around 1 billion tons of annual coal usage consists of metallurgical coal, while thermal coal makes up the other 7 billion, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The generating capacity of coal-fired power plants has doubled over the past two decades, as reported by Carbon Brief. But it is interesting to note that these plants are majorly in Asia and the majority of it is consumed in parts of Europe and North America. According to the World Economic Forum, China accounts for almost 54% of the world’s coal consumption. It operates more than 1,100 coal-fired power plants that produce around 82 exajoules of energy. India comes in second place and produces 17.5 exajoules of energy. Far behind China though, India is responsible for 11% of global coal consumption. The U.S. accounts for 6.1% of the world’s coal consumption, followed by Japan, South Africa, Russia, and Indonesia.
While the US does not top the list of coal consumers, it holds the position as the country with the most coal. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are “an estimated 252 billion short tons of coal” available in the U.S., which is about 22% of the world’s remaining supply. Although the U.S. has the largest coal reserves, it isn’t the leader in coal production. It only produces 640 million tons per year. China on the other hand produces up to 3.7 billion tons. These high levels of production stem from countries’ higher reliance on coal for power generation.
So which companies operate and own coal reserves, especially in the US, given the sheer capacity the country holds? Some of the top controlling companies are Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE:BTU), and Arch Resources, Inc. (NYSE:ARCH). Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE:BTU) is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and is focused on the mining and selling of coal. In 2022, the company was responsible for 17.2% of the total coal production in the US and produced 101,929 thousand short tons in the year. Being the biggest coal producer in the country, it comes as no shock that the company reported a net income of $760 million in 2023.
On the other hand, Arch Resources, Inc. (NYSE:ARCH) which is the second largest coal supplier in America behind Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE:BTU), produced 78,364 thousand short tons of coal in the year 2022. These high levels of coal supplied by Arch Resources, Inc. (NYSE:ARCH) accounted for 13.2% of the total coal production by the US, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The company, however, was unable to match Peabody’s financial performance and reported a revenue of $774 million in the same year.
Also see: 11 Best Coal Mining Stocks To Invest In and 25 Countries with the Largest Coal Reserves in the World.
Aerial view of an opencast coal mine, its vastness conveying the magnitude of its operations.
Methodology
For the purpose of this ranking, we obtained data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on the coal imports per country in the year 2022. The figures represent the total coal imports which include all five types of coal i.e. anthracite, metallurgical, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite. Once we had the data on the imports for each country, we arranged it in ascending order and picked the top 20 countries with the highest level of imports. The list starts with the country that reported the lowest coal imports of all the countries listed.
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20. Spain
Coal Imports in 2022: 11,361.96 thousand short tons
Coal imports by Spain in 2023 amounted to $1.51 billion and this made up 0.323% of the total import value by Spain in that year. The import of coal, however, decreased in value terms as compared to the previous year in which the country imported $2.89 billion worth of coal, according to Trend Economy.
19. Indonesia
Coal Imports in 2022: 11,793.87 thousand short tons
Indonesia has been benefiting from the increased demand for seaborne coal and in light of this increased its coal production to an all-time high in 2023. The country produced a whopping 775.2 million mt of coal in 2023 which exceeded the government’s target of 694 million mt set earlier. According to S&P Global, output increased by 12% on a year-on-year basis while the exports stood at a record high of 508 million mt in 2023.
18. Morocco
Coal Imports in 2022: 12,843.97 thousand short tons
Morocco’s energy sector depends heavily on imported hydrocarbons with the country importing approximately 90 percent of its energy needs, according to International Trade Administration. Primary coal imports of Morocco increased from 4,430 thousand short tons in 2003 to 12,844 thousand short tons in 2022 growing at an average annual rate of 6.41%. The government, however, plans to decrease energy consumption by 15 percent from 2016 levels by 2030 through energy efficiency measures.
17. Italy
Coal Imports in 2022: 13,536.26 thousand short tons
According to Argus Media, Italy’s coal-fired generation last year collapsed by 42 percent, compared with 2022, and the generation of 440 megawatts in January was the lowest since April last year. Italy’s coal imports have also fallen, but to a lesser degree than its generation which has left the market saturated. The energy minister announced in March 2024 that the country is committed to stopping electricity generation from coal by the end of 2025 nationwide except on the island of Sardinia, according to Reuters.
16. Poland
Coal Imports in 2022: 14,540.88 thousand short tons
In 2021, imports supplied almost 17% of the total national consumption in Poland and this number increased above 30% starting in 2022 until mid-2023. Between January 2022 and September 2023, Poland imported the most steam coal from Columbia and South Africa, amounting to 6.7 Mt, and 5.1 Mt, respectively; on the other hand, most coking coal was imported from Australia during the same period, according to Energy Instrat. pl.
15. Brazil
Coal Imports in 2022: 19,611.65 thousand short tons
Brazil is a relatively small producer of coal, according to OECD Statistics. Due to its high ash and low calorific content, Brazilian coal is unsuitable for use in the steel industry. Therefore, per OECD stats, 85% of coal consumed in the country is imported, and coal produced domestically is used primarily for generating electricity.
14. Pakistan
Coal Imports in 2022: 24,066.22 thousand short tons
According to Dawn, it is expected that Pakistan’s coal consumption will increase to 25 million tons by 2025, which is roughly 30 percent higher than the 2022 level of more than 19 million tons. However, it was announced in April 2024 that Pakistan has decided to convert all imported coal-fired power plants to local coal, including three Chinese plants.
13. Thailand
Coal Imports in 2022: 24,761.8 thousand short tons
Primary coal imports in Thailand increased from 7,838 thousand short tons in 2003 to 24,762 thousand short tons in 2022 growing at an average annual rate of 6.78%. Thailand’s thermal coal imports, which include bituminous and sub-bituminous coal, reached 1.79 million tons in April 2024. This was 5.39% higher than 1.69 million tons of coal imported in March 2024, according to SXCoal.
12. Russia
Coal Imports in 2022: 25,422.99 thousand short tons
The country is home to one of the world’s biggest coal reserves, with basins in Siberia accounting for a large proportion of its estimated 162 billion tons of national resources. Lately, the top five consumers of Russian thermal coal, barring Taiwan, saw a drop in imports from Russia. However, in May 2024, the government decided to temporarily remove the duties on its export of thermal coal and anthracite from May 1 to Aug. 31, which may raise the demand for Russian coal, according to S&P Global.
11. Netherlands
Coal Imports in 2022: 27,370.71 thousand short tons
Most of the coal is transshipped by the Netherlands. Only 10% of the total coal imports that enter Rotterdam stay in Rotterdam. The other 90% is shipped to Germany where half of that 90% is consumed by the German steel industry, the other half by German power plants, according to Port of Rotterdam.
10. Malaysia
Coal Imports in 2022: 34,169.6 thousand short tons
As of October 2023, according to Volza, Malaysia imports most of its coal from Vietnam with 169,808 shipments, followed by India with 140,539, and Nepal at the 3rd spot with 63,269 shipments. Currently, 44 percent of the country’s energy capacity comes from coal, while 37 percent comes from oil and gas, and 19 percent comes from renewable energy, including hydropower, as reported by Stanley Center.
9. Philippines
Coal Imports in 2022: 34,770.75 thousand short tons
The Philippines is an economy that relies heavily on imported fossil fuels which is why the government has started focusing on renewable energy sources. Because it is currently unable to produce as much as it consumes, it resorts to imported coal, which, at times, is cheaper than domestic coal, to meet demand. Imported coal is typically mixed with locally produced, low-rank sub-bituminous coal.
8. Turkey
Coal Imports in 2022: 40,599.53 thousand short tons
While the European Union has been trying to phase out coal by 2040, turkey seems to be on a different track. In 2023, Turkey’s coal-based electricity production reached a record level of 118 terawatt hours, making it the second-highest producer of coal in Europe, according to Al-Monitor. Turkey’s total imports of thermal coal from Russia jumped to a record 22.8 million in 2023, up 25% from the year 2022, as given in Reuters.
7. Vietnam
Coal Imports in 2022: 43,506.67 thousand short tons
So far in 2024, Vietnam’s import of coal has almost doubled as compared to the same period in 2023. Coal imports, mostly from Australia and Indonesia, were up by roughly 88% as of March 15, 2024, according to Reuters. Furthermore, according to the locals, coal imports are expected to rise even more in the latter half of the year.
6. Germany
Coal Imports in 2022: 46,777.86 thousand short tons
According to S&P Global, German imports of steam coal for power generation plunged 40% year-on-year in 2023 to 18.6 million mt. This is the lowest this value has been in recent times. Coal demand from the steel-making sector declined almost 2% while the coking coal demand rose. The US, Australia, Colombia, and South Africa accounted for over 80% of German coal imports in 2023.
5. Taiwan
Coal Imports in 2022: 70,157.3 thousand short tons
In 2022, coal accounted for nearly 43 percent of total electricity generation, and as is apparent, coal is the main source of electricity production in Taiwan. Of the island’s total energy needs in 2022, coal and coal products imports stood at nearly 30 percent and Australia accounted for more than half of Taiwan’s total 2022 coal imports, according to Atlantic Council.
4. South Korea
Coal Imports in 2022: 133,347.98 thousand short tons
IEA reports that coal currently accounts for more than 40 percent of South Korea’s electricity generation, but under Seoul’s current energy plans coal’s percentage of electricity generation should fall to slightly below 15 percent in 2036. For this, South Korea plans on retiring over 20 coal-fired power plants over the next decade and replacing their production with increased nuclear power and renewable energy, according to IEA.
3. Japan
Coal Imports in 2022: 209,407.38 thousand short tons
In 2022, around 69.7% percent of Japan’s import volume of coal was shipped in from Australia, representing the largest share of coal imports, according to OEC World. Japan depended on imports for most fossil fuels, as its imports value stood at $53.7 billion in 2022!
2. India
Coal Imports in 2022: 234,147.17 thousand short tons
India primarily imports thermal coal from South Africa and Indonesia, and average prices from these countries decreased by approximately 54% and 38% respectively from April 2023 to January 2024, as given in PIB. According to Reuters, India imported 176 million tons of thermal coal in 2023, driven mainly by power plants.
1. China
Coal Imports in 2022: 345,488.69 thousand short tons
China reported a record-high import of 474.42 million tons of coal in 2023 and it is projected that this trajectory is going to continue in 2024 with the expectations lying between 450 and 490 million tons, according to S&P Global. Coal consumption is also expected to be at an all-time high and grow at a rate of 4% which is higher than the average annual growth of nearly 3% since 2021.
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