March 23, 2019 - Thailand imported 1.69 million mt of coal comprising mainly bituminous, anthracite and other coals in February, down 12.2% year on year, according to customs data released Thursday.

The value of the imports in the month was $107.2 million, 15.1% lower than $126.2 million in February 2018.

Of the total imports, 531,781 mt was bituminous coal, down 21.3% year on year, with the cargoes mainly from Australia at 422,611 mt, up 38.4% year on year; Indonesia at 54,438 mt or 82.7% lower year on year; and Russia at 45,460 mt, down 16.9% from February 2018.

Imports of other coals such as lignite and sub-bituminous also fell 5.9% year on year to 1.16 million mt in February. Imports were mostly from Indonesia.

The kingdom imported just 98 mt of anthracite coal in the month, down 99.5% year on year, mainly from China and Russia.

In the first two months, Thailand imported 3.88 million mt of coal, up 8.5% year on year. The volume comprised 1.43 million mt of bituminous coal, up 14.9% year on year, and 2.43 million mt of other coals, up 5% from the same period in 2018.

Imports in the first two months of this year were worth $254.9 million, surging 8.3% from $235.4 million over January-February 2018.

Indonesia, Australia and Russia were major suppliers in the period.