By Jacqueline Cowhig
LONDON Jan 6 (Reuters) – South Africa’s coal exports
for calendar year 2011 rose by 1.9 percent or 1.2 million tonnes
to 64.6 million tonnes from the previous year, but the most
notable change was the fourth-quarter surge in the amounts going
to China, exporters said.
China took just over 13 million tonnes from South Africa
last year, most of it in the fourth quarter as Chinese utilities
filled stockpiles to capacity before the New Year holidays.
Although India remains the biggest single market for South
African coal, accounting for 16.1 million tonnes in 2011, China
has risen rapidly to the No. 2 spot.
In 2010 and 2009, Chinese buying of South African cargoes
was rare and often at heavily discounted prices, because
Australian or Indonesian coal costs less to ship due to its
proximity.
(Reporting by Jacqueline Cowhig, editing by Jane Baird)
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