Global Coal Trade Shrinks as Demand Falls in This Region

Global coal exports declined in 2025 for the first time since 2020, marking a significant shift as major Asian economies reduced coal use in power generation.

“This drop signals that global coal trade may have already peaked,” said an analyst at Kpler, reflecting changing energy demand across key markets.

Seaborne thermal coal exports fell by 5% to about 945 million tonnes as Asian imports dropped 7% year on year, with China and India cutting purchases despite remaining the world’s largest buyers. Together, Asia still accounted for 89% of global imports, but rapid growth in domestic production and renewable energy pushed coal’s share of power generation in China to its lowest level on record and reduced India’s reliance on coal, pointing to a longer-term contraction of the global coal industry.