The worldwide value of coal exports expanded by an average 14.3% for all exporting countries since 2017 when overall coal shipments were valued at $107.5 billion.
From 2020 to 2021, the value of exported coal accelerated by 48.7%.
The 5 biggest exporters of coal are Australia, Indonesia, Russia, United States and South Africa. Combined, those 5 countries shipped 84.5% of the total value of coal sold on international markets during 2021.
From a continental perspective, coal exported from Oceania (mostly Australia but also from New Zealand) amounted to $32.7 billion or 39.7% of worldwide coal sales. Asian exporters generated 21.7% worth, trailed by European suppliers at 17.1% then North American suppliers at 11.5%.
Smaller percentages came from coal exporters in Africa (5.5%) and Latin America (4.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2701 for coal. Those digits encompass briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal.
Coal Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of coal during 2021.
- Australia: US$43.9 billion (35.7% of total coal exports)
- Indonesia: $26.5 billion (21.6%)
- Russia: $17.6 billion (14.3%)
- United States: $9.7 billion (7.9%)
- South Africa: $6.08 billion (4.9%)
- Canada: $6.05 billion (4.9%)
- Colombia: $4.4 billion (3.6%)
- Mongolia: $1.9 billion (1.5%)
- Mozambique: $1.1 billion (0.9%)
- Kazakhstan: $929 million (0.8%)
- Netherlands: $882.5 million (0.7%)
- Poland: $828 million (0.7%)
- Philippines: $596.4 million (0.5%)
- Mainland China: $419.4 million (0.3%)
- Vietnam: $315.1 million (0.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.6% of global coal exports in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing coal exporters from 2020 to 2021 were: Kazakhstan (up 173.4%), Vietnam (up 172.6%), Philippines (up 158.1%) and Netherlands (up 101.9%).
Two top suppliers posted declines in their exported coal sales, namely Mongolia (down -12.5%) and mainland China (down -3.7%).
Countries Enjoying Highest Surpluses from International Coal Trade
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for coal during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported coal and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Australia: US$43.9 billion (net export surplus up 34.3% since 2020)
- Indonesia: $24.3 billion (up 77.8%)
- Russia: $17.2 billion (up 42.3%)
- United States: $9.2 billion (up 61.9%)
- South Africa: $5.7 billion (up 53.7%)
- Canada: $5.4 billion (up 92.4%)
- Colombia: $4.4 billion (up 23.8%)
- Mongolia: $1.9 billion (down -12.5%)
- Mozambique: $1.1 billion (up 82.8%)
- Kazakhstan: $837.5 million (up 212.5%)
- Afghanistan: $111.5 million (up 157.9%)
- Venezuela: $41.6 million (down -39.8%)
- Botswana: $26.2 million (up 67.6%)
- Peru: $25.5 million (down -810.8%)
- Denmark: $24.7 million (up 6181.9%)
Australia generated the highest surplus in the international trade of coal. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Australia’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Deficits from International Coal Trade
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for coal during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported coal purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- India: -US$25.6 billion (net export deficit up 62.1% since 2020)
- Japan: -$25.2 billion (up 57.9%)
- Mainland China: -$22.5 billion (up 40.8%)
- South Korea: -$14.5 billion (up 53.1%)
- Taiwan: -$8.2 billion (up 65.7%)
- Germany: -$5.1 billion (up 91.6%)
- Turkey: -$4.1 billion (up 49.7%)
- Malaysia: -$4 billion (up 74.4%)
- Vietnam: -$2.9 billion (down -17.1%)
- Brazil: -$2.8 billion (up 71.7%)
- Ukraine: -$2.4 billion (up 42.4%)
- Pakistan: -$2.32 billion (up 87.6%)
- Philippines: -$2.29 billion (up 83.6%)
- Thailand: -$1.8 billion (up 36.4%)
- Italy: -$1.4 billion (up 112.0%)
Densely populated Inia, Japan and mainland China racked up the highest deficits in the international trade of coal, ahead of a handful of fellow Asian countries. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Japan’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for coal-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Major Coal Exporting Companies
Below are global coal-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of coal. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.
- BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (Australia)
- Bumi Resources (Indonesia)
- China Kingho Group (China)
- DSM (Netherlands)
- Exxaro Resources (South Africa)
- Kompania Węglowa (Poland)
- Peabody Energy (United States)
- Pioneer Coal Limited (Canada)
- Siberian Coal Energy Company (Russia)
- SouthGobi Resources (Mongolia)
Searchable List of All Coal Exporting Countries in 2021
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. The right-most column highlights the change in value of globally exported coal in 2021 compared to 2020.
| Rank | Exporter | Exported Coal (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | $43,934,893,000 | +34.3% |
| 2. | Indonesia | $26,538,188,000 | +82.4% |
| 3. | Russia | $17,583,742,000 | +41.9% |
| 4. | United States | $9,709,488,000 | +59.9% |
| 5. | South Africa | $6,078,832,000 | +55.5% |
| 6. | Canada | $6,046,737,000 | +78% |
| 7. | Colombia | $4,380,488,000 | +23.6% |
| 8. | Mongolia | $1,857,480,000 | -12.5% |
| 9. | Mozambique | $1,079,327,000 | +82.7% |
| 10. | Kazakhstan | $929,036,000 | +173.4% |
| 11. | Netherlands | $882,478,000 | +101.9% |
| 12. | Poland | $828,034,000 | +63.2% |
| 13. | Philippines | $596,372,000 | +158.1% |
| 14. | China | $419,382,000 | -3.7% |
| 15. | Vietnam | $315,149,000 | +172.6% |
| 16. | Belgium | $280,550,000 | +66.7% |
| 17. | Czech Republic | $233,425,000 | +166.7% |
| 18. | United Kingdom | $169,265,000 | -6.2% |
| 19. | Germany | $125,295,000 | +82.2% |
| 20. | France | $124,525,000 | +436.8% |
| 21. | Afghanistan | $111,606,000 | +157.6% |
| 22. | India | $98,215,000 | +42.4% |
| 23. | Spain | $83,567,000 | -40.2% |
| 24. | United Arab Emirates | $77,127,000 | +13107% |
| 25. | Peru | $61,135,000 | +217.8% |
| 26. | Venezuela | $42,028,000 | -39.2% |
| 27. | Ireland | $40,479,000 | -0.3% |
| 28. | Denmark | $32,753,000 | +347.9% |
| 29. | Italy | $28,999,000 | +304% |
| 30. | Botswana | $26,368,000 | +67% |
| 31. | Eswatini | $24,427,000 | +23% |
| 32. | Thailand | $21,111,000 | +115.8% |
| 33. | Egypt | $16,198,000 | +12.9% |
| 34. | Slovakia | $15,994,000 | +56.9% |
| 35. | Kyrgyzstan | $15,334,000 | -1.3% |
| 36. | Iran | $14,287,000 | 0% |
| 37. | Tanzania | $13,198,000 | +126.3% |
| 38. | Turkey | $12,895,000 | +98.7% |
| 39. | Laos | $11,458,000 | -57.6% |
| 40. | Malaysia | $10,778,000 | +312.3% |
| 41. | New Zealand | $10,276,000 | -39.2% |
| 42. | Zambia | $9,843,000 | +57.2% |
| 43. | Zimbabwe | $9,033,000 | +79% |
| 44. | Lithuania | $8,974,000 | +27.5% |
| 45. | Croatia | $8,324,000 | +140.6% |
| 46. | Greece | $5,301,000 | +558.5% |
| 47. | Finland | $4,744,000 | +13078% |
| 48. | Nigeria | $4,238,000 | 0% |
| 49. | Japan | $2,051,000 | +117.7% |
| 50. | Latvia | $1,641,000 | +218.6% |
| 51. | Slovenia | $754,000 | +11.5% |
| 52. | Taiwan | $688,000 | -18.3% |
| 53. | Lebanon | $649,000 | +0.9% |
| 54. | Namibia | $636,000 | +145.6% |
| 55. | Tajikistan | $607,000 | +330.5% |
| 56. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $578,000 | 0% |
| 57. | Bangladesh | $452,000 | +95.7% |
| 58. | Georgia | $418,000 | +828.9% |
| 59. | Serbia | $375,000 | +37.9% |
| 60. | Bulgaria | $373,000 | -31.7% |
| 61. | Moldova | $294,000 | +488% |
| 62. | Brazil | $278,000 | -42.6% |
| 63. | South Korea | $217,000 | +99.1% |
| 64. | Bahrain | $198,000 | 0% |
| 65. | Singapore | $198,000 | +187% |
| 66. | Hungary | $154,000 | -66.1% |
| 67. | Ukraine | $150,000 | -34.5% |
| 68. | Azerbaijan | $138,000 | 0% |
| 69. | Kenya | $121,000 | +26% |
| 70. | Albania | $106,000 | 0% |
| 71. | Mexico | $104,000 | -87.5% |
| 72. | Uganda | $78,000 | -90.5% |
| 73. | Romania | $60,000 | +1400% |
| 74. | Ghana | $49,000 | +2350% |
| 75. | Rwanda | $42,000 | 0% |
| 76. | Malawi | $37,000 | +105.6% |
| 77. | Uzbekistan | $37,000 | -56.5% |
| 78. | Sweden | $24,000 | +166.7% |
| 79. | Luxembourg | $17,000 | +325% |
| 80. | Portugal | $14,000 | -93.1% |
| 81. | Austria | $6,000 | -86.7% |
| 82. | Dominican Republic | $5,000 | -84.8% |
| 83. | Guyana | $5,000 | 0% |
| 84. | Montenegro | $5,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Switzerland | $4,000 | -42.9% |
| 86. | Syria | $1,000 | 0% |
| 87. | Saint Lucia | $1,000 | 0% |
| 88. | St Vincent/Grenadines | $1,000 | 0% |
| 89. | Papua New Guinea | $1,000 | 0% |
| 90. | Lesotho | $1,000 | 0% |
| 91. | Estonia | $1,000 | 0% |
| 92. | Myanmar | $1,000 | 0% |
| 93. | Sri Lanka | $1,000 | 0% |
| 94. | Costa Rica | $1,000 | 0% |
A value of 0% in the right-most column means 2020 data was unavailable.
See also Average Coal Prices Compared for Top Coal Exporters by Country, Coal Imports by Country, Crude Oil Exports by Country, Petroleum Gas Exports by Country and Best Solar & Wind Exporters Powering International Energy Sales
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 20, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 20, 2022
Wikipedia, Category: Coal companies by country. Accessed on May 20, 2022
Wikipedia, Coal. Accessed on May 20, 2022
