Canadian coking coal exports weighed down by Europe

: Coking coal, Metals
19/06/06

Canada exported 2.12mn t of coking coal in April, down by 18pc on the year, in the absence of shipments to key European destinations, data from Statistics Canada show.

There were no coking coal shipments from Canada to the Netherlands, the UK and Germany in April, partly reflecting multiple headwinds facing western Europe's steel industry. But Canada does not necessarily export to these destinations every month, as European mills cover a significant amount of their requirements with US and Australian coking coal supplies.

Continuing rail delays at the Port of Vancouver as operators struggled with record volumes and persistent congestion are likely to have contributed to the dip in exports. Late last year, some carriers were forced to halt rail movements.

But strong demand in Asia-Pacific, led by China, India and South Korea, supported overall Canadian export volumes in April.

Canada shipped 521,044t of coking coal to China in April, nearly double compared with the same month last year. Despite the higher shipping costs, Canada is an attractive source of coking coal supplies for Chinese buyers looking to diversify their supply sources amid delays to customs clearances and cargo discharge for Australian supplies and trade tensions between the US and China. Shipments to India were up by 35.2pc on the year to 561,076t amid healthy demand from mills. Shipments to South Korea remained significant at 424,910t but were down by 39.9pc on the year.

Exports of coking coal from Canada in January-April totalled 10.23mn t, relatively unchanged compared with the 10.26mn t shipped in the same period last year.

Canada coking coal exports				t
	Apr 19	Apr 18	Jan-Apr 19	Jan-Apr 18

South Korea	424,910	594,613	2,386,646	2,737,444
India	561,076	393,572	1,717,660	1,198,355
China	521,044	262,014	1,284,777	865,184
Vietnam	170,273	244,858	497,408	502,748
Japan	242,809	197,692	2,146,534	2,277,664
Netherlands		170,180	248,261	399,353
UK		159,063	166	159,063
Hong Kong		123,200		123,200
Finland	60,438	108,537	60,438	256,328
Taiwan	78,966	86,900	544,505	493,322
Germany		81,357	261,628	202,000
Brazil		75,000	301,643	306,187
Chile		45,253	44,976	45,253
Sweden		25,792		36,594
US	61,280	22,069	169,164	92,270
Turkey			164,524	167,278
Poland			286,702	283,484
Italy			120,834	57,449
Egypt				56,369
Total	2,120,796	2,590,100	10,235,866	10,259,545
— Statistics Canada

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24/04/19

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Australia’s Pilbara Mining sees continuing Li demand

24/04/19

Australia’s Pilbara Mining sees continuing Li demand

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Coal sales at Australia’s Whitehaven fall in Jan-Mar

24/04/19

Coal sales at Australia’s Whitehaven fall in Jan-Mar

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24/04/18

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BHP cuts Australian met coal sales guidance again

24/04/18

BHP cuts Australian met coal sales guidance again

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