Vietnamese coal imports absorbed some Asian COVID excess

Argus Media:

Vietnamese coal imports rose last year as the country’s steady industrial activity helped to absorb some of the Covid-19 pandemic-driven oversupply in Asia.

Seaborne receipts in December were 4.03mn t, up from the country’s imports of 3.75mn t in November, customs data show. But December imports were down by 6.3pc on a year earlier with some easing after a record run.

The generally robust demand propelled seaborne receipts in 2020 to an all-time high of 54.81mn t, up from 43.77mn t in 2019. Vietnamese customs data do not differentiate between coking and thermal coal.

Vietnam is likely to continue to develop 15 planned coal-fired power projects with a combined capacity of 18GW between now and 2026, the sustainable energy think-tank the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said last month. 

[Saurabh Chaturvedi]

More: Vietnamese coal imports hit record high in 2020