Russian coal exporters have been experiencing a decline for the past three years, resulting in reduced profits and production.

Source : Russian online newspaper The Moscow Times, citing statistics from Argus, an independent provider of global energy and commodity market intelligence

Details : Russian coal miners sold 195 million tonnes of products to foreign markets in 2024, a decrease of 17.5 million tonnes compared to the previous year and 26.2 million tonnes from 2022.

Argus analysts noted that the figures were negatively affected by market conditions, sanctions and railway infrastructure problems.

"Unlike oil and gas, which Europe continues to buy, albeit in small volumes, coal has been subject to a total embargo while the largest coal companies, SUEK and Mechel, have been added to the US sanctions lists," The Moscow Times said.

According to Argus, the export situation has been worsened by issues on the railways, which were unprepared for the "economic turn to the East". A shortage of locomotives and drivers, combined with a rise in freight traffic, has pushed the Russian railway system to the brink of collapse. The average speed on the network has dropped below 35 km/h, marking the lowest point since 1991.

The railway issues have led some coal companies to miss their production delivery targets.

At the same time, export prices for coal dropped to their lowest level in seven years, rendering all Russian coal companies unprofitable. The total loss amounted to RUB 81 billion (US$810 million).

Meanwhile, Russia's main coal-producing region, Kemerovo Oblast, experienced a decline in production by 15.8 million tonnes last year, bringing the total to 198.4 million tonnes.

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