South Africa's coal exports rise 8.1% YoY in Sep, hitting six-month high

South Africa exported 6.63 million tonnes of coal in September, up 8.1% on year and 5.3% on month, as European and Japanese buyers lifted intake to multi-month highs, South African Revenue Service (SARS) data showed. September marked the country's largest monthly export volume since April and the second largest this year only after March's 7.12 million.

In September, India remained the biggest buyer, taking 2.69 million tonnes, or 40.6% of shipments, 47.1% higher than the 1.83 million tonnes in August but 6.6% below September 2025. Indian buying had cooled as imports for blending at domestic coal-based power plants declined by 35.2% on year, with total coal