HANOI: Vietnam’s coal imports surged 141% year on year to 1.31 million mt in July, customs data released Monday showed. Traditionally a coal exporter, Vietnam turned into an importer amid rising domestic demand, particularly from the power sector.
Australia was the largest supplier in July at 463,131 mt, compared with 112,092 mt a year earlier; followed by Russia with 410,449 mt, up 168%; and Indonesia with 172,099 mt, up 37.1% year on year. In the first seven months, Vietnam imported 8.38 million mt of coal, compared with just 2.72 million mt a year ago, the data showed.