The geopolitical crisis in Eastern Europe caused the world to look for new coal exporters. This is because European countries prohibit the purchase of coal from Russia.
With this situation, several coal consumers from Europe have flocked to ask for coal shipments from Indonesia. In fact, requests are not only from companies but also on behalf of the government.
In fact, these coal buyers from Europe are not even too concerned about the price, as quoted by CNBC.
The source that did not want to be named, happened because these European coal buyers prioritized the availability and security of energy for their country first.
The Executive Director of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) Hendra Sinadia is similar. Hendra said that currently, several European countries were looking at Indonesian coal.
Several countries in Europe are exploring the purchase of Indonesian coal, including Italy, Germany, and Poland. But unfortunately, he did not know for sure the amount of the coal quota being explored, considering that this was part of the company’s business to business.
Likewise with the recognition of PT Adaro Energy Tbk (ADRO). Adaro’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Lie Luckman said he was interested in getting additional coal orders from Europe, including the Netherlands and Spain.
The company has also sent two to three ships with a capacity of up to 300 thousand tons to both Europe. However, his view is still focused on markets in Asia, such as Japan, China, Hong Kong, and others.
“With the constellation between Russia and Ukraine, there has been demand from Europe, but indeed our market is Asia. So, we focus on fulfilling our customers who have taken our coal,” he continued in a discussion with the media, Monday (18/04/ 2022).
However, it turns out that orders from European countries are not only flooded, Indonesia’s coal is also predicted to be flooded with orders from other countries in Asia.
Besides being flooded with orders from Europe, Indonesia is also expected to be flooded with orders for coal from India. This was triggered by India’s plan to increase imports by 10.5 million tons in the next few months.
This additional coal import is in anticipation of an electricity crisis due to a shortage of coal supply in India.
The three states are importing coal from India, namely, Maharashtra which plans to adopt 8 million tons, Gujarat 1 million tons, and Tamil 1.5 million tons.
Citing Reuters on Thursday (21/04/2022), the three states are India’s largest electricity users, creating nearly a third of India’s electricity demand in 2021.
