Global seaborne thermal coal exports in 2025 fell for the first time since 2020, by 5% to a three-year low of 945 million tons, Reuters reports, citing data from Kpler.
The main reason for the decline was a reduction in imports by Asian countries.
Since the beginning of the year, they have imported 841 million tons of thermal coal, which is 7% less than the figure for the whole of 2024.
China was the largest importer (305 million tons), followed by India (157 million tons), Japan (100 million tons), South Korea (76 million tons), and Vietnam (45 million tons).
At the same time, only South Korea and Vietnam increased their volumes. China reduced imports by 12%, India by 3%, which in both cases is explained by an increase in domestic coal production and consumption of other energy sources.
