German coal importers do not expect supply problems, despite the EU embargo on coal imports from the Russian Federation which has come into force. “Coal is available on the world market,” Alexander Bethe, chairman of the Council of the Union of Coal Importers (Verein der Kohlenimporteure, VDKI), told dpa on Wednesday, Aug. 10. According to him, the main suppliers are now the United States, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia and Colombia.

According to VDKI data, in 2021 Russia supplied almost half of the coal and coke supply, about 17% came from the US and over 13% from Australia. Russian coal imports last year reached almost 20.5 million tons, from January to May 2022 inclusive, Russia supplied about 7.2 million tons of hard coal to Germany. These are the most recent data available.

EU embargo on Russian coal

In April, the European Union announced an embargo on the import of Russian coal and other solid fossil fuels as part of the fifth package of sanctions over Russian aggression against Ukraine. On August 10, the ban took effect, before that, parties were allowed to fulfill contracts concluded before April 9. According to the European Commission, the embargo will affect 25% of all Russian coal exports worth €8 billion a year.

Even in the absence of coal supplies from Russia, the German Importers’ Union expects “a significant increase in monthly import volumes” from September. This, according to Bethe, is due to the temporary commissioning of coal-fired power plants in Germany, which were previously deactivated but were in reserve. At the same time, the head of VDKI fears that deliveries could be hampered by logistical problems, including the lack of loading and unloading capacity at seaports and aboard river barges, as well as the limited availability of rail freight space.