Russia coal exporters told to prioritise domestic supply
Russian coal exporters have been told by Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov to prioritise domestic coal supply for the balance of this year over exports.
According to coal industry sources, the order was given at a meeting held in early August and is in response to the extremely low stocks of coal being held by Russian power plants.
There are not enough rail cars available to move domestic coal and coal for export, and so to avoid power cuts domestic coal supply must be given priority, the exporters were told.
Russian state rail monopoly RZhD has already cut the availability of rail cars for movement of export coal from the Kuzbass in Siberia by up to 50%.
