NSW coal exports and jobs remained strong despite the challenges of 2021, according to information released by Coal Services Pty Ltd.
The data confirms the sector emerged robustly from the past 12 months, thanks to another positive year, even allowing for a worldwide pandemic and changes in the market.
It also revealed 164 million tonnes of coal was exported from NSW, just one per cent lower than the 2020 result and almost 30% higher than a decade ago.
The strong growth in demand was led by India, almost doubling its import of coal from 8.9 million tonnes to 16 million tonnes in 2021.
This was followed by Korea who increased imports by 25% to 26.8 million tonnes.
Coal exports to Australia’s largest international market, Japan, were up eight per cent to more than 71 million tonnes.
NSW export volumes to Thailand almost doubled, increasing from 3.7 million tonnes in 2020 to 6.7 million tonnes in 2021.
Exports to both the Philippines and Malaysia remained steady.
In addition, Coal Services’ data confirms the number of coal mining jobs in NSW also increased slightly during 2021, from 20,936 in December 2020 to 21,298 in December 2021.
NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee welcomed the positive economic news.
“Coal is our state’s most valuable export, so it’s great for the NSW economy that demand for our high-quality resources remains strong,” he said.
“The stability of our export market is particularly encouraging, considering the challenges of COVID-19 and changes in export markets, including China.
“With strong export volumes, more coal mining jobs and record royalties flowing to the NSW Government, it is more important than ever to ensure a sensible and balanced approach is taken to policies impacting the sector.
“To meet the strong global demand for our high-quality coal and deliver an increase in jobs during the pandemic is a testament to the resilience of the world-class mining industry in NSW.
“With the right policy settings, the NSW coal mining sector is well-placed to make a big contribution to the economic recovery of NSW.”
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