South Africa’s coal sales to Europe rose eight-fold during the first half of 2022 compared with last year as demand for the fossil fuel surged ahead of a ban on Russian coal, Thungela Resources (TGAJ.J) said on Monday.
In April, the European Union announced a ban on coal imports from Russia as part of sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine. The ban came into effect on August 10.
Ahead of the ban, European countries, which previously imported 45% of their coal from Russia and have been switching away from expensive natural gas to coal, started to source the fossil fuel from other countries, including South Africa.
Thungela, a leading South African coal exporter and part of a consortium which owns Africa’s largest coal export facility, the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), said Europe was competing with Asia for South African coal.
“It’s worth noting that coal exports from RBCT into Europe have increased by about 720% from half a million tonnes in H1 2021 to 4.1 million tonnes in the first half of 2022,” Thungela Chief Financial Officer Deon Smith said during an investor call.
Source: Reuters
