The export of coal to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region has increased significantly, which has led to an increase in demand for railway transportation of coal to the east, in particular to China and the ports of the Far East. However, there is also an alternative route through the Black and Azov Seas. Modernization of the Eastern Polygon is underway, but the demand for coal transportation still exceeds the capacity of the railway.
The export of coal to Europe has decreased after the introduction of the EU embargo on imports from Russia. However, export through the ports of the Black Sea can be profitable for Russian companies, especially with an increase in supplies to India. In 2023, coal exports through various ports increased, despite the decline in shipments through the Black and Azov Seas.
World coal prices have fallen since the beginning of 2023, but this does not mean super profits for Russian exporters. The main importers of our coal are China, Turkey and India (the growth in demand for coal in India by 2030 is estimated at about 300 million tons), which makes supplies through the southern ports promising for domestic companies.
In the future, it is expected that exports will increase this year, but not due to the expansion of bottlenecks in the infrastructure for delivering goods to the ports of the Azov and Black Seas, but due to an increase in the capacity of the Eastern Polygon and the construction of a private railway to the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk from the Elga coal field.