Indonesian coal exports dip amid price dispute

The Star

03-06-2025

Workers walk near a tugboat carrying coal barges at a port in Palembang, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, January 4, 2022. Antara Foto/Nova Wahyudi/ via REUTERS/File Photo
JAKARTA: Indonesian coal exports dropped 6.43% to 160 million tonnes in the January-April period of 2025, according to data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.
Surya Herjuna, the ministry's coal business development director, denied that high reference prices were to blame, but traders have warned that misaligned pricing indices could further erode global demand as thermal coal prices hit four-year lows.
Surya said the declining exports were caused partly by geopolitical tensions, which have dampened demand from key buyers, especially China and India, the two most populous countries.
'Due to the trade war, production activity in both countries has slowed,' he said during a discussion in Jakarta last Wednesday, as Bisnis reported.
Chinese customs reported a 20% year-on-year (yoy) decline in April.
Some buyers have cited Indonesia's reference coal price as a possible deterrent, arguing it was higher than global market rates.
Surya denied that claim, noting that domestic coal sales had also dropped to 12 million tonnes in the first quarter from 16 million tonnes a year prior.
Asia's seaborne thermal coal prices have dropped to their lowest levels in four years, driven by reduced imports from major buyers China, India and Japan, according to a recent Reuters report.
Prices for key thermal coal grades from top exporters Indonesia and Australia have been steadily declining since October and have fallen more sharply in recent weeks amid weakening demand. — The Jakarta Post/ANN