Mongolia's coal output drops 15% MoM in February

Mongolia's production of coal for all uses dropped 14.6% on month to 8.65 million tonnes in February, Mysteel Global calculated based on the latest adjusted readings from Mongolia's National Statistical Office (NSO). The NSO sometimes revises its historical data, Mysteel Global notes.

By type, output of hard coal (mainly coking coal for steelmaking) and lignite accounted for 7.65 million tonnes and 997,000 tonnes in February, down 16.2% and 3.9% from January, respectively, Mysteel Global calculated.

The output declined somewhat due to Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year festival celebrated over February 18-20 this year, when many workers took holiday leave for family reunions, Mysteel Global learnt.

Mongolia's holiday break, in conjunction with the overlapping Spring Festival in China during February 15-23, also delayed coal transport at Sino-Mongolian borders, as major border ports between the two countries halted Customs inspections and clearance over February 17-20, as reported.

As a result, Mongolia's coal exports to China in February also slumped 37.3% on month to 6.35 million tonnes, according to data from Mongolia's Customs General Administration.

On a yearly basis, however, February coal output in Mongolia was higher by 37.3% despite the holiday disruption, with hard coal output up 45.4% and lignite production lower by only 4%, according to the NSO data.

Over January-February, Mongolia's coal output totalled 18.79 million tonnes, surging 46.4% from the same period last year. Output during this year's first two months had already met over 20% of the 90-million-tonne target that the government had proposed in January for this year's production, Mysteel Global notes.

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