HANOI: Vietnam imported 1.21 million mt of coal in March, more than three times the 394,856 mt imported a year earlier, customs data released Wednesday showed. Traditionally a coal exporter, Vietnam has turned to imports to meet rising domestic demand for power generation.
State-owned power production and distribution company Vietnam Electricity, or EVN, added more than 3,400 MW of electricity generation capacity from new coal-fired power plants in 2015. These power plants consume nearly 10 million mt/year of coal, EVN data showed.
Russia became the largest seller of coal to Vietnam in March with 584,726 mt, more than 10 times higher than the 56,000 mt sold a year earlier, followed by Australia with 279,511 mt, up 152% year on year, and China with 258,005 mt, compared with 17,054 mt in the same month last year.