In 2022, international coal trade was 1 336 million tonnes or around 17% of world coal production. Of this, 1 123 million tonnes were transported across the oceans, being the seaborne coal trade. These data show that coal is mainly used in the vicinity of deposits. In addition, lignite production was 713 million tonnes in 2022. There is little international trade in lignite.

Coal from mines with low production costs and good transport links to sea ports can be delivered competitively to overseas consumers. Since the oil crises of the 1970s, the growth in global coal trade has allowed the world to shift away from an overreliance on oil to the extent that oil is now rarely used for utility-scale power generation.

Seaborne trade can be further divided into coking coal trade and steam coal trade. In 2022, seaborne steam coal trade was 851 million tonnes, with a further 272 million tonnes of coking coal. Overland cross-border deliveries added an estimated 213 million tonnes to total international coal trade.

The market for steam coal can be subdivided into Pacific and Atlantic markets, each with different supply patterns. By contrast, the coking coal market is a more uniform world market, reflecting the small number of supply countries: principally Australia, the United States, Canada, Russia and Mongolia.

Important exporting countries for hard coal are Indonesia, Australia, Russia, the United States, South Africa and Colombia who together accounted for around 90% of all coal exports in 2022.

The top coal importing countries are China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan together accounting for 68% of coal trade. In the EU, Germany and Poland were the biggest importers in 2022.

Imported hard coal makes a significant contribution to the EU’s security of energy supply and offers a competitive fuel which can be easily and safely transported and stocked. In 2022, 10% of all coal exports were destined for EU member states. Until August 2022, Russia was the largest exporter to the EU. Today’s leading exporters to the EU are the United States, Australia, Colombia, South Africa and Indonesia.

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See Coal industry across Europe for more on coal production and use, including a section on the International Coal Market and Global Energy Trends.