Colombian March coal exports drop 54.6% on month, 43.4% on year: DANE

Houston — Colombian coal exports fell to 3.35 million mt in March, down 54.6% from the 13-month high 7.38 million mt in February and 43.4% lower than the 5.93 million mt exported in the year-ago month, data from government statistics agency DANE showed May 3.

The 3.35 million mt was the second-lowest total in the last seven years, only higher than 2.02 million mt in November 2020. It was also the third-lowest total for the corresponding month in the last 15 years, only above 2.13 million mt in March 2013 and 3.33 million mt in March 2014.

Through March, coal exports totaled 14.61 million mt, down 46.1% from the same period a year earlier and the second-lowest total in the last 16 years, only higher than the 12.46 million mt exported in Q1 2013.

Export receipts from coal also fell to $264.8 million in March, down 40.5% from February and 17.9% lower year on year. It was the second-lowest total for coal receipts for the corresponding month in the last 15 years, except for $202 million in March 2013.

However, on a price per ton basis, exports jumped to a 22-month high $78.93/mt FOB, up from $60.26/mt in February and $54.39/mt in the year-ago month. It was the highest monthly average since $79.15/mt in May 2019 but down 11.1% from the five-year average for the month.

Through the first three months of 2021, receipts were a combined $960.82 million, or $65.74/mt, down from $1.61 billion, or $59.42/mt, in the same period a year earlier. The receipts were the second-lowest in the last 14 years, only higher than $843.62 million in 2016.

The country exported an 11-year low 71.19 million mt in 2020, down 4.7% from the prior year and the lowest since 68.68 million mt in 2009, due to the coronavirus pandemic and a three-month strike at the Cerrejon mine, which ended on Nov. 30.

Receipts were a combined $4.17 billion, or $58.52/mt in 2020, down from $5.67 billion, or $75.89/mt, in 2019. The cumulative receipts were the lowest in a year since $3.6 billion in 2007, while the average per ton was the lowest since $54.49/mt in 2016.