Indonesia posted a surge in coal export volume to a number of European countries in September 2022. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) stated that there was a significant increase in terms of export volume in that month. Director of Coal Business Development Lana Saria revealed that the volume of coal exports to Europe in September reached 1.18 million tons. This number jumped from August's demand which amounted to 574, 84 thousand tons. "The increase in the volume of coal exports in September doubled from August to meet the demands of the Netherlands, Italy and Poland," Lana explained to Kontan, Monday (24/10/2022). Lana continued, the increase in volume also boosted the increase in the value of coal exports. Last August, the value of coal exports to Europe reached USD 98.11 million. This amount increased to USD 180.28 million in September 2022. In particular, Indonesia's coal exports to Poland for the period January to September 2022 reached 1.4 million tons. "Poland is the largest importer of Indonesian coal in Europe," said Lana. Lana explained that the current use of coal in Europe is triggered by high gas prices and the occurrence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
According to him, the increase in coal demand to the European market is only short term. One of the reasons is that European countries have generally abandoned the use of coal as an energy source. Previously, the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) revealed an increase in demand from the European market. APBI Executive Director Hendra Sinadia explained that the increase generally came from a number of countries, especially Poland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece and Germany. However, Hendra could not further estimate the potential for increased demand from the European market until the end of this year. "There will still be exports to Europe disa this year," said Hendra to Kontan, Sunday (23/10). Hendra explained that the fulfillment of coal to the European market was faced with the challenges of the quality of the coal needed as well as logistical constraints. Previously, Hendra explained that demand from Europe for the next few years could be a growth potential for the Indonesian export market.
