Preliminary data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicates that global coal imports rose by 2.4% in 2024, reaching 1.5bn tonnes for the year.

The rise in imports, reported by Global Energy, was partly attributed to coal prices returning to multi-year norms. Thermal coal prices in Australia’s Newcastle hub meanwhile averaged $136 per tonne, while prices in South Africa’s Richards Bay port stood at $106 per tonne.

Both figures are more than 50% lower than 2022’s energy crisis peak when prices reached $345 per tonne and $241 per tonne, respectively. Market stability returned after supply disruptions caused by the EU embargo on Russian coal and restrictions on Australian coal imports to China.

China's coal imports meanwhile surged in 2024, with steam coal rising by 10.4% to 408mn tonnes and coking coal increasing by 7% to 119mn tonnes. This growth was driven by policies to boost commercial coal reserves and improved supply from Mongolia, where a railway connecting the Tavan Tolgoi deposit to China began operations in 2022.

Also in Asia, India’s coal imports grew by 1.1% to 250mn tonnes in 2024, supported by expansion in coal-fired power generation. The country also added 2.8 GW of coal-fired thermal power capacity in the first half of the year, second only to China’s 8.6 GW.

India, as the world’s most populous country, is expected to maintain its position as a leader in coking coal demand growth at least, with significant steel production capacity under construction or in planning.

Vietnam’s thermal coal imports also rose - by 18% in 2024 - compensating for reduced hydropower output. The country is set to begin importing coal via a conveyor belt from Laos in the late 2020s, with an annual capacity of at least 15mn tonnes.

The IEA projects that global coal trade will continue to grow until 2027 before stabilising, as increased production in China and the adoption of low-carbon technologies in power generation and metallurgy begin to curb demand.