Australian producers exported 69.6mn t of coal from Gladstone port — Australia's largest coking coal export hub — in the financial year from July 2025 to June 2026, up by 8.3pc on the year as weaker demand from China and Vietnam was offset by stronger shipments to India and South Korea.
The outlook for Australia's 2026 coking coal exports has been buoyed by favourable demand and price expectations. An El Nino event, which typically brings dry conditions across Queensland and limits rain-related disruptions, should aid supply over the next few months.
Producers shipped 19.8mn t of coal to South Korea from Gladstone, up by 57.7pc on the year as South Korea sought to boost its stockpiles in early 2026, latest port data show. South Korea ramped up its coal procurement over January-April 2026 to accumulate stocks in response to the US-Iran war. Gladstone's coal shipments to South Korea were up by 179pc and 189pc, respectively, in April and May 2026 compared to the previous year, port data show.
South Korea's finance ministry created a 400bn won ($277.48mn) export supply chain guarantee fund in November 2025 for the country's steelmakers, which could have contributed to coking coal demand. Higher automotive sector demand also supported the outlook for country's steelmakers in 2026.
Producers shipped 12.7mn t of coal to India from Gladstone, up by 7.8pc on the year. Indian steelmakers have shifted away from Australian coal in preference for cheaper alternatives from Russia, Mozambique and the US. But the country's demand for seaborne coking coal is expected to ramp up as it aims to double its steel production capacity to 300mn t/yr by 2030, and reach 500mn t/yr by 2047.
Gladstone's coal shipments to Vietnam fell by 6.2pc on the year to 3.8mn t over July 2025-June 2026. But steel demand in India and Southeast Asia is expected to grow over the medium term due to urbanisation, population growth, ongoing infrastructure and housing programmes, and growth in steel-intensive manufacturing, Australian government commodity forecaster the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) said.
Producers shipped 7.1mn t of coal from Gladstone to China, down by 30.5pc on the year. Chinese steelmakers' demand for Australian coking coal fell in 2025 due to high prices and occasional supply concerns.
Chinese steelmakers are importing more coking coal from Mongolia and Russia due to their competitive pricing. Mongolian coal continues to attract Chinese end buyers due to its stable supply, logistics, and favourable pricing compared with other seaborne cargoes.
Argus last assessed the price of hard coking coal fob Australia at $189.1/t on 13 July and premium hard low-vol coking coal fob Australia at $231/t on 13 July.
| Gladstone export data | mn t | ||
| Destination | Jul '25 - Jun '26 | Jul '24 - Jun '25 | YTD % ± |
| China | 7.1 | 10.2 | -30.5 |
| India | 12.7 | 11.8 | 7.8 |
| Japan | 19.8 | 18.1 | 9.6 |
| South Korea | 15.6 | 9.9 | 57.7 |
| Vietnam | 3.8 | 4 | -6.2 |
| Total | 69.6 | 64.3 | 8.3 |
| *Total includes countries not listed | |||
| Source: Gladstone Port Data | |||
