NSW: Coal exports continue to grow thanks to emerging markets

Coal is still king in New South Wales.

Last week, the industry association NSW Minerals Council confirmed coal remains the regions number one export commodity, and revealed new data that shows demand for coal from emerging markets is on the rise.

Data released by Coal Services Pty Ltd reveals that coal exports for the current financial year are up nearly five percent, from 127 million tons in 2013­-14 to 133 million tons in 2014­-15.

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“It’s good for the NSW economy that coal exports are growing steadily across our main international markets,” NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said.

“Coal remains vital to the NSW economy. It’s our most valuable export, and the NSW coal industry employs 35,000 people across the state,"

Exports of NSW coal to Korea are up eight percent, while exports to Taiwan have risen by 21 percent and across the rest of Asia outside of Japan and China, exports have more than doubled to 15.6 million tons over the last nine months.

Falls in export volume to China and Japan were more than offset by growth in other markets, including an encouraging more than doubling of exports to India in the current financial year.

Japan continues to be the biggest market for NSW coal comprising 40 percent of total exports, followed by China at 18 percent, Korea with 17 percent and Taiwan at 11 percent.

“The NSW mining industry has been doing it tough recently, with over 5000 jobs lost across the last two years. It’s therefore encouraging to see strong demand for NSW coal across our emerging markets,” Galilee said.

“Ongoing export demand indicates solid long term prospects for our state’s coal sector, provided we get the policy settings right here in NSW,” Galilee said.

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