Since the beginning of 2022, European countries imported coal from South Africa 40 percent more than in 2021, Reuters writes. In the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Europe seeks to find a replacement for this fuel from the Russian Federation.
, through the largest coal terminal in the port of the Port Richards-Bey (RBCT), 3.2 million tons of coal were delivered to European countries compared to 2.3 million tons in 2021. So, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Germany and Ukraine have already received coal. Some countries, for example, Spain, Poland and Germany, began to purchase coal only after the Russian Federation’s touch in Ukraine.
In addition to European countries, Japan took advantage of the opportunity to import coal from Africa, which also plans to ban fuel supply from Russia. Since the beginning of January 2022, the Land of the Rising Sun received 388 thousand tons of coal, this is almost twice as much as in 2021.