Mongolia’s H1 coal exports halve to 9 million tonnes

Mongolia’s target to lift its annual coal exports to exceed 40 million tonnes this year may have suffered a delay, chiefly owing to the pandemic’s advance from early this year and which continues to adversely impact shipping volumes. According to the country’s latest Customs data published on July 8, over the January-June period the volume slumped by 52% on year to 8.7 million tonnes, among which 96.4% was exported to China.

For June alone, Mongolia exported 2.4 million tonnes of coal for all applications, 9% higher on month but still 20% lower on year, the Customs data showed. Earlier this year as news emerged of the coronavirus spreading throughout China, beginning from February 10 Mongolia had stopped coal exports to China