Coal Imports by Country

July 5, 2018 by

Coal crystals (Pixabay.com)

Coal crystals (Pixabay)

Global purchases of imported coal totaled US$131.01 billion in 2017.

The overall value of coal imports were roughly on par with 2013 when coal purchases were valued at $131.02 billion.

From a continental perspective, Asian countries accounted for the highest dollar worth of imported coal during 2017 with purchases valued at $93.6 billion or 71.5% of the worldwide total. In second place were European importers at 21.5%.

Smaller percentages arrived in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (3.9%), North America (1.7%), Africa (1.3%) and Oceania (0.1%).

The 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2701 for coal and similar solid fuels made from coal.

Coal Imports by Country

Top 15

Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of coal during 2017.

  1. Japan: US$22.9 billion (17.5% of total imported coal)
  2. China: $18.5 billion (14.1%)
  3. India: $15.2 billion (11.6%)
  4. South Korea: $15.1 billion (11.5%)
  5. Taiwan: $6.8 billion (5.2%)
  6. Germany: $5.9 billion (4.5%)
  7. Netherlands: $5.6 billion (4.3%)
  8. Turkey: $3.9 billion (3%)
  9. Brazil: $3.4 billion (2.6%)
  10. Ukraine: $2.7 billion (2.1%)
  11. Malaysia: $2.5 billion (1.9%)
  12. France: $2.2 billion (1.7%)
  13. Spain: $1.86 billion (1.4%)
  14. Italy: $1.85 billion (1.4%)
  15. Poland: $1.5 billion (1.2%)

By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 83.9% of all coal imports in 2017. Within parenthesis is the percentage of overall coal shipments.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for coal since 2013 were: Turkey (up 333.4%), Ukraine (up 38.3%), Brazil (up 38.3%) and Malaysia (up 34.7%).

Those countries that posted declines in their imported coal purchases were led by: China (down -28.6%), Italy (down -18.9%), France (down -7.8%) and Japan (down -2.9%).

Japan

Coal Imports into Japan

Japan’s global purchases of imported coal totaled US$22.9 billion in 2017. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Japan imported the highest dollar value worth of coal during 2017. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country since 2013.

  1. Australia: US$14.3 billion (down -5.8% from 2013)
  2. Indonesia: $2.9 billion (down -22.1%)
  3. Russia: $2.1 billion (up 46.3%)
  4. Canada: $1.5 billion (down -3.2%)
  5. United States: $1.2 billion (up 13.1%)
  6. China: $386.5 million (up 1.7%)
  7. Colombia: $253.1 million (up 897.6%)
  8. Mozambique: $146.8 million (up 327.3%)
  9. Viet Nam: $104.5 million (down -35.2%)
  10. New Zealand: $27.4 million (up 9.6%)
  11. Mongolia: $18.1 million (up 199.3%)
  12. Kazakhstan: $15 million (up 184.2%)
  13. South Africa: $12.3 million (down -74.4%)
  14. Thailand: $746,000 (no 2013 data)
  15. Taiwan: $499,000 (up 5.3%)

The listed 15 countries shipped very close to 100% of all Japanese coal imports in 2017.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of coal to Japan since 2013 were: Colombia (up 897.6%), Mozambique (up 327.3%), Mongolia (up 199.3%) and Kazakhstan (up 184.2%).

Countries that experienced declines in the value of their coal supplied to Japanese importers included: South Africa (down -74.4%), Vietnam (down -35.2%), Indonesia (down -22.1%) and Australia (down -5.8%).

Overall, the value of Japanese coal imports fell by an average -2.9% from all supplying countries since 2013 when coal purchases were valued at $23.6 billion.

China

Coal Imports into China

China’s global purchases of imported coal totaled US$18.5 billion in 2017. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which [CountryName1] imported the highest dollar value worth of coal during 2017. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country since 2013.

  1. Australia: US$9.8 billion (down -3% from 2013)
  2. Indonesia: $2.5 billion (down -52.8%)
  3. Russia: $2.23 billion (down -20%)
  4. Mongolia: $2.2 billion (up 85.5%)
  5. Canada: $867.2 million (down -50.2%)
  6. United States: $455.6 million (down -60%)
  7. North Korea: $402.8 million (down -71.1%)
  8. New Zealand: $33.7 million (down -56.9%)
  9. Vietnam: $15 million (down -98.2%)
  10. Malaysia: $14.7 million (down -47.5%)
  11. Iran: $4.6 million (down -68.5%)
  12. Kyrgyzstan: $2.2 million (up 352.5%)
  13. Laos: $784,000 (down -7.4%)
  14. Germany: $105,000 (up 5,150%)
  15. United Kingdom: $25,000 (up 38.9%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 99.99997% of all Chinese coal imports in 2017.

Four countries grew their coal sales to China since 2013 namely Germany (up 5,150%), Kyrgyzstan (up 352.5%), Mongolia (up 85.5%) and United Kingdom (up 38.9%).

Countries that experienced declines in the value of their coal supplied to Chinese importers included: Vietnam (down -98.2%), North Korea (down -71.1%), Iran (down -68.5%) and United States (down -60%).

Overall, the value of Chinese coal imports fell by an average -28.6% from all supplying countries since 2013 when coal purchases were valued at $25.9 billion.

India

Coal Imports into India

India’s global purchases of imported coal totaled US$15.2 billion in 2017. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which India imported the highest dollar value worth of coal during 2017. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country since 2013.

  1. Australia: US$5.8 billion (up 14.4% from 2013)
  2. Indonesia: $4.5 billion (down -30.6%)
  3. South Africa: $2.1 billion (up 9.7%)
  4. United States: $1 billion (up 78.3%)
  5. Mozambique: $625 million (up 305.9%)
  6. Canada: $451.9 million (up 184.5%)
  7. Russia: $387.9 million (up 492.5%)
  8. New Zealand: $82.6 million (down -59.2%)
  9. China: $57.5 million (up 764.1%)
  10. Colombia: $29.8 million (up 99.4%)
  11. Latvia: $22.5 million (no 2013 data)
  12. Vietnam: $12.2 million (down -6.9%)
  13. Chile: $11 million (down -79%)
  14. Philippines: $6.4 million (down -0.3%)
  15. Austria: $4.6 million (up 342.2%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 99.9% of all Indian coal imports in 2017.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of coal to India since 2013 were: China (up 764.1%), Russia (up 492.5%), Austria (up 342.2%) and Mozambique (up 305.9%).

Countries that experienced declines in the value of their coal supplied to Indian importers included: Chile (down -79%), New Zealand (down -59.2%), Indonesia (down -30.6%) and Vietnam (down -6.9%).

Overall, the value of Indian coal imports rose an average 1.6% from all supplying countries since 2013 when coal purchases were valued at $14.9 billion.

Korea

Coal Imports into South Korea

South Korea’s global purchases of imported natural honey totaled US$15.1 billion in 2017. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which South Korea imported the highest dollar value worth of coal during 2017. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country since 2013.

  1. Australia: US$5.8 billion (up 1% from 2013)
  2. Russia: $2.7 billion (up 73.1%)
  3. Indonesia: $2.6 billion (down -3.1%)
  4. Canada: $1.5 billion (down -5.5%)
  5. United States: $771.5 million (up 1.3%)
  6. South Africa: $743.4 million (up 4,876%)
  7. China: $420.7 million (down -7.6%)
  8. Colombia: $373.7 million (up 1,206%)
  9. Mozambique: $136.9 million (up 2,125%)
  10. Vietnam: $23.5 million (down -79.1%)
  11. Saudi Arabia: $13.3 million (no 2013 data)
  12. Austria: $12.1 million (no 2013 data)
  13. Marshall Islands: $9.3 million (no 2013 data)
  14. New Zealand: $8.5 million (up 585.5%)
  15. Peru: $6.5 million (no 2013 data)

The listed 15 countries shipped 99.9% of all South Korean coal imports in 2017.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of coal to South Korea since 2013 were: South Africa (up 4,876%), Mozambique (up 2,125%), Colombia (up 1,206%) and New Zealand (up 585.5%).

Countries that experienced declines in the value of their coal supplied to South Korean importers were: Vietnam (down -79.1%), China (down -7.6%), Canada (down -5.5%) and Indonesia (down -3.1%).

Overall, the value of South Korean coal imports rose an average 16.4% from all supplying countries since 2013 when coal purchases were valued at $13 billion.



 

Searchable List of Coal Importing Countries

You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.

RankImporter2017 Coal Imports% World Total
1.JapanUS$22.9 billion17.5%
2.China$18.5 billion14.1%
3.India$15.2 billion11.6%
4.South Korea$15.1 billion11.5%
5.Taiwan$6.8 billion5.2%
6.Germany$5.9 billion4.5%
7.Netherlands$5.6 billion4.3%
8.Turkey$3.9 billion3%
9.Brazil$3.4 billion2.6%
10.Ukraine$2.7 billion2.1%
11.Malaysia$2.5 billion1.9%
12.France$2.2 billion1.7%
13.Spain$1.86 billion1.4%
14.Italy$1.85 billion1.4%
15.Poland$1.5 billion1.2%
16.Philippines$1.5 billion1.2%
17.Thailand$1.5 billion1.1%
18.Pakistan$1.1 billion0.8%
19.Chile$1 billion0.8%
20.Vietnam$1 billion0.8%
21.United Kingdom$946.3 million0.7%
22.Mexico$902.7 million0.7%
23.Indonesia$855.7 million0.7%
24.Hong Kong$786.3 million0.6%
25.Belgium$779.9 million0.6%
26.Israel$750.9 million0.6%
27.Canada$673 million0.5%
28.United States$658.5 million0.5%
29.Austria$633.4 million0.5%
30.Slovakia$592.7 million0.5%
31.Finland$522.4 million0.4%
32.South Africa$479.3 million0.4%
33.Russia$473.6 million0.4%
34.Portugal$470.9 million0.4%
35.Morocco$468.7 million0.4%
36.Czech Republic$467.8 million0.4%
37.Sweden$462 million0.4%
38.Bosnia/Herzegovina$264 million0.2%
39.Sri Lanka$258.9 million0.2%
40.Argentina$254.9 million0.2%
41.Egypt$252.9 million0.2%
42.Hungary$243.1 million0.2%
43.Bangladesh$191.6 million0.1%
44.Guatemala$186.3 million0.1%
45.Ireland$184 million0.1%
46.United Arab Emirates$152.2 million0.1%
47.Nepal$144.7 million0.1%
48.Cambodia$141.9 million0.1%
49.Dominican Rep$117.2 million0.1%
50.Romania$101 million0.1%
51.Bulgaria$98.2 million0.1%
52.New Caledonia$93.8 million0.1%
53.Ethiopia$80.8 million0.1%
54.Djibouti$75 million0.1%
55.Croatia$61.3 million0.05%
56.Mauritius$59.5 million0.05%
57.Madagascar$51.5 million0.04%
58.Singapore$51.1 million0.04%
59.Peru$48.7 million0.04%
60.North Korea$47.2 million0.04%
61.Iran$46.9 million0.04%
62.Senegal$46.5 million0.04%
63.Norway$45.8 million0.03%
64.Kenya$45.5 million0.03%
65.Australia$42.9 million0.03%
66.Greece$36.5 million0.03%
67.Saudi Arabia$35.5 million0.03%
68.Yemen$32.4 million0.02%
69.Serbia$32 million0.02%
70.Kuwait$31.1 million0.02%
71.Lithuania$30.2 million0.02%
72.Myanmar (Burma)$25.8 million0.02%
73.Belarus$24.4 million0.02%
74.Moldova$23.8 million0.02%
75.Iceland$23.6 million0.02%
76.Kazakhstan$21.3 million0.02%
77.Kyrgyzstan$20.5 million0.02%
78.Algeria$20.2 million0.02%
79.Panama$18.6 million0.01%
80.Georgia$17.8 million0.01%
81.Jordan$17.7 million0.01%
82.Togo$17 million0.01%
83.Oman$16.8 million0.01%
84.Macedonia$16.6 million0.01%
85.Angola$15.9 million0.01%
86.Congo$15.4 million0.01%
87.Côte d'Ivoire$11.7 million0.01%
88.Honduras$7.9 million0.01%
89.New Zealand$7.6 million0.01%
90.Benin$7.2 million0.01%
91.Lebanon$7.1 million0.01%
92.Switzerland$6.7 million0.01%
93.Uzbekistan$6.7 million0.01%
94.Nigeria$6.4 million0.005%
95.Swaziland$6.1 million0.005%
96.Latvia$6 million0.005%
97.Bhutan$5.9 million0.005%
98.Luxembourg$5.9 million0.004%
99.Jamaica$5.8 million0.004%
100.Qatar$5.6 million0.004%
101.Uganda$4.3 million0.003%
102.Estonia$4.2 million0.003%
103.Malawi$4.1 million0.003%
104.Zambia$3.8 million0.003%
105.Syria$3.6 million0.003%
106.Lesotho$3.5 million0.003%
107.Trinidad/Tobago$3.5 million0.003%
108.Slovenia$3.2 million0.002%
109.Bahrain$3.2 million0.002%
110.Venezuela$2.3 million0.002%
111.Mozambique$2.3 million0.002%
112.Ecuador$2 million0.002%
113.Cyprus$1.8 million0.001%
114.Democ. Rep. Congo$1.8 million0.001%
115.Timor-Leste$1.7 million0.001%
116.Eritrea$1.7 million0.001%
117.Turkmenistan$1.4 million0.001%
118.Bolivia$1.1 million0.001%
119.Ghana$1.1 million0.001%
120.Iraq$1.1 million0.001%
121.Tunisia$880,0000.001%
122.Rwanda$833,0000.001%
123.Sudan$813,0000.001%
124.Libya$577,0000.0004%
125.Namibia$551,0000.0004%
126.El Salvador$531,0000.0004%
127.Zimbabwe$459,0000.0004%
128.Gabon$271,0000.0002%
129.Armenia$265,0000.0002%
130.Colombia$236,0000.0002%
131.Botswana$205,0000.0002%
132.Br. Indian Ocean Terr$202,0000.0002%
133.Cuba$180,0000.0001%
134.Montenegro$170,0000.0001%
135.Tajikistan$155,0000.0001%
136.Azerbaijan$127,0000.0001%
137.Cameroon$105,0000.0001%
138.Niger$92,0000.0001%
139.Denmark$77,0000.0001%
140.Bahamas$66,0000.0001%
141.Laos$55,0000.00004%
142.Cabo Verde$48,0000.00004%
143.Malta$44,0000.00003%
144.Nicaragua$40,0000.00003%
145.Barbados$34,0000.00003%
146.Aruba$32,0000.00002%
147.Seychelles$28,0000.00002%
148.Curaçao$25,0000.00002%
149.Sierra Leone$21,0000.00002%
150.Tanzania$21,0000.00002%
151.Costa Rica$16,0000.00001%
152.Greenland$15,0000.00001%
153.Equatorial Guinea$9,0000.00001%
154.Guinea$8,0000.00001%
155.Papua New Guinea$8,0000.00001%
156.Uruguay$8,0000.00001%
157.Maldives$6,0000.000005%
158.Andorra$6,0000.000005%
159.Saint Lucia$5,0000.000004%
160.Saint Helena$4,0000.000003%
161.Mali$4,0000.000003%
162.Paraguay$4,0000.000003%
163.Bonaire/St Eustatius/Saba$4,0000.000003%
164.St Maarten (Dutch)$3,0000.000002%
165.Micronesia$3,0000.000002%
166.Afghanistan$3,0000.000002%
167.British Virgin Is$3,0000.000002%
168.Gambia$3,0000.000002%
169.Sao Tome/Principe$3,0000.000002%
170.Burkina Faso$2,0000.000002%
171.Belize$2,0000.000002%
172.Antigua/Barbuda$2,0000.000002%
173.Mongolia$2,0000.000002%
174.Nauru$2,0000.000002%
175.Haiti$2,0000.000002%
176.Grenada$2,0000.000002%
177.Macao$1,0000.000001%
178.Liberia$1,0000.000001%
179.Marshall Islands$1,0000.000001%
180.French Polynesia$1,0000.000001%


See also Coal Exports by Country, Japan’s Top Trading Partners and Japan’s Top 10 Imports

Research Sources:
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Imports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on July 3, 2018

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on July 3, 2018

Investopedia, Net Importer Definition. Accessed on July 3, 2018







Filed Under: Energy, Import News, Products