Coal exports rise despite rail closure
RBCT boasts a boost in overall export figures for May, but no coal sent to China.
IN the face of Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR) 10-day railway shutdown last month, the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) still managed to ship off more coal than it did in April.
According to the terminal’s latest operating statistics, exports last month increased by more than 2.3% month-on-month from 5.45 million tons (mt) to 5.58 mt and rose by a whopping 28% year-on-year from 4.35 mt last May.
The exports were made via 63 vessels – 33 Capesize vessels, 20 Handysize, and 10 Panamax.
RBCT Corporate Affairs Manager Gcina Nhleko last month said the company was fully prepared for TFR’s annual rail closure from 14 to 25 May to carry out restoration and infrastructure work, but confirmed that because ‘RBCT coal is delivered by rail only’, no coal was imported during the shutdown period.
This was reflected in the company’s month-to-month imports figures – the terminal saw 41.3% less coal in May than in April.
No exports to China
But perhaps most notably is the fact that no coal was shipped to eastern Asia last month, which includes two of the countries (China and Taiwan) that absorbed the majority of RBCT’s total thermal coal in 2012.
RBCT’s stats indicate eastern Asia consistently decreased its demand for local coal from 1.9 mt in July (32%) to 685 704 tons (15.3%) in February.
After a brief jump in imports to 1.6 mt (23.8%) in March, the sub-region once again dropped its demand to 528 320 (9.7%) in April, to nothing in May.
This sudden decline could be linked to China seeking to dramatically reduce energy consumption from coal by 25% in an attempt to limit the country’s heavy carbon footprint.
China is currently the largest coal consumer in the world with coal counting for 80% of the nation’s energy. Last month, a report by activist investor group Carbon Tracker forecast that ‘an early peaking trajectory would dramatically reduce the country’s coal needs’.
Northern Africa and other parts of South Africa also stopped coal shipments in May, since buying
65 149 and 30 594 tons of coal respectively in April.
Coal frontrunners
However, southern Asia and western Europe remain strong customers of RBCT.
Southern Asia, which includes India and Pakistan, increased coal imports from 3.2 mt (58%) in April to nearly 3.6 mt (64.4%) in May.
The second-largest bulk went to western Europe countries such as Germany and France, (598 176 tons), but was down 18% month-on-month.
So far this year, RBCT has exported a total of 27 mt of coal – 43.2% (11.65 mt) of which was sent to Southern Asia; 19.6% (5.3 mt) went to western Europe and 14.1% (3.8 mt) went to eastern Asia.
