Australian coal exports set to rise

By Elizabeth Cope | World Coal

According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Australia’s coal exports are expected to rise over the next 5 years on the back of growing demand from Asia.

The report, published by the IEA on 17 December, found that demand for coal in India could rise by 4.6% by 2024 and by 5% in Indonesia and Vietnam. As a result, Australia’s total coal production is expected to rise 1.4% annually from 409 million t in 2018 to 444 million t in 2024.

Coal exports were worth an estimated AUS$67 billion (US$45.9 billion) to the nation’s economy in the 2018 – 2019 financial year, overtaking iron ore as the most valuable export.

The IEA found that while the reliance on coal as a power source could fall between 2018 – 2024, Australia’s share of the global export market is set to rise.

Matt Canavan, Australia’s Minister for Resources, said that the report supported the need for new coal mines in New South Wales and Queensland. He commented: “We will need more than Adani,” referring to the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin…Full Story