Vietnam's coal imports (including those from foreign-invested enterprises) in March surged to an eight-month high, preliminary customs data showed.
The country imported 5.43 million tonnes of coal in March, rising 46.18% from 3.72 million tonnes in the same month last year and 30.11% from 4.18 million tonnes a month ago, data showed.
Vietnam has significantly increased its coal imports this year as part of efforts to prevent a recurrence of last year's power outages. The growing production of local steelmakers and other energy-intensive industries has also contributed to the rise in coal imports.
Indonesia was the top supplier in the month, delivering 2.14 million tonnes, soaring 111.03% from a year earlier and up 35.39% on the month. Vietnam imported 1.09 million tonnes of coal from Australia, sinking 48.65% on the year and 15.6% month on month.
Russia delivered 509,200 tonnes of coal to Vietnam, surging 124.28% on the year yet falling 13.36% on the month, while imports from China stood at 38,500 tonnes, jumping 49.62% from the year before and 86.66% from a month earlier.
The data revealed that Vietnam's coal import value in March amounted to $671 million, increasing 1.69% year on year and 9.17% month on month.
In the first three months this year, Vietnam imported a total 14.68 million tonnes of coal, up 71.2% from year-ago 8.57 million tonnes. Total value came in at $1.95 billion, rising 32.26% on the year, data showed.
(Writing by yan.sun Editing by Alex Guo)
For any questions, please contact us by inquiry@fwenergy.com or +86-351-7219322.