Russia's seaborne coal exports have increased by nearly 20% compared with the run-up and early months of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, local media reported.
From January to April this year, Russia exported 69.9 million tonnes of coal from its ports, an increase of 18.3% over the same period last year, the Kommersant business daily reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the data.
The coal export figures underscore Russia's ability to offset shrinking imports from western countries, after they imposed sanctions on Russian coal, the report said.
Russia diverted 140 million tonnes of coal to Asia after Europe and Ukraine shunned Russian energy last year, directly leading to an increase in seaborne coal shipments.
Before the coal ban, around 45% of coal imports in the EU came from Russia.
Russia's seaborne coal exports increased 10.5% year-on-year in 2022. Russia's Energy Ministry estimated total coal exports last year fell 1% to 221.2 million tonnes.
However, Russia may not maintain the seaborne coal exports in 2023, due to the increasing costs and expenses of transporting Russian coal by rail to Far Eastern ports.
(Writing by Emma Yang Editing by Harry Huo)
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