OREANDA-NEWS From January to July 2024, Russian coal exports to Egypt decreased 1.6 times. The newspaper Vedomosti reports on the collapsed supplies of one type of fuel with reference to the Argus review.

Shipments fell to the level of 286 thousand tons due to a decrease in the profitability of deliveries through the ports of northwestern Russia and delays in payment from buyers in Egypt. As a result, exporters prefer to supply fuel to Turkey.

After the imposition of sanctions by the European Union, Egypt has become an important export market for Russia. In 2023, supplies to the African country increased by 21 percent, to a level of 739 thousand tons, and the country became one of the 20 largest buyers of coal. For comparison, in 2021 Egypt bought only 435 thousand tons of fuel.

According to Dmitry Baranov, a leading expert at Finam, the profitability of coal supplies to Egypt is declining due to the rise in the cost of production and logistics. The need to circumvent various restrictions also affects the cost of fuel. According to Neft Research, Kuzbass thermal coal is sold at a loss of 300-600 rubles per ton.

Discounts for coal miners during transportation by rail can solve the problems of low profitability of supplies, Maxim Khudalov, chief strategist of the Vector X investment company, admitted. Earlier, the discussion of support measures and discounts for transportation was announced by the head of the Ministry of Energy Sergey Tsivilev. According to him, in 2024, the profit of the Russian coal industry may fall by 15-17 times.

According to the results of the first four months of this year, more than half (52.4 percent) of Russian coal companies began to generate losses. The total profit decreased by 15 times in annual terms. Vladimir Korotin, CEO of the Russian Coal company, suggested that in the second half of the year, positive profitability of the industry can not be expected