Putin orders urgent action to save Russia’s coal industry
Pravda Ukraine
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has demanded that emergency measures be taken to support Russian coal companies that are suffering multibillion-dollar losses and are on the verge of large-scale bankruptcies.
Source: Russian online newspaper The Moscow Times
Details: Russia’s Energy Minister, Sergei Tsivilyov, stated that Putin has ordered the development of an aid package for coal miners “as soon as possible.”
A separate issue, according to Tsivilyov, is the programme for the socio-economic development of Kuzbass, Russia’s main coal region, which accounts for 60% of hard coal production and 80% of coking coal.
From January to July, total coal exports from Russia dropped by 11.4%, to 112.6 million tonnes. Even supplies to China, now the primary customer for Russian coal miners after sanctions, fell by 8% in the first half of the year.
Background:
- China, the largest buyer of Russian coal on the global market, has cut coal imports from Russia.
- The share of unprofitable coal companies in Russia exceeded 52%, and coal exports fell by 12%.
- In July 2024, coal production in Russia declined by 6.7% year-on-year, with a total output of 31.5 million tonnes – the lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Russian coal exporters started shipping supplies to China via North Korea.
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