Coal companies refuse to export to east according to agreements

The Kuzbass coal miners began to refuse to export shipments even in the segment, which is considered premium: according to the agreements on guaranteed transportation east. OJSC Russian Railways talks about seven consignors who are not among the largest who have abandoned volumes. Strengthening the ruble destroys the economy of coal exports, experts note, but they have disappeared the supply of ordinary coals, while the varieties continue to be taken to a smaller volume. Perhaps they note, consignors do not withdraw applications, trying to wait for the mass bankruptcy of competitors from other countries.

Coal companies refuse shipments in the most popular direction – for export to the east according to agreements on the guaranteed export of coal, which goes in priority regarding most other goods. This year, such an agreement was concluded only with Kuzbass (54.1 million tons), the possibility of expanding it to Khakassia was fundamentally approved (see Kommersant on May 13).

Last week, at the conference “Pro // Movement. Vostok”, Deputy General Director of Russian Railways, Mikhail Glazkov, said that if since the beginning of the year the company has encountered the inflation of applications from consignors west, “The end of April – May very sharply exacerbated this problem at the eastern training ground”. “And today, according to agreements with Kuzbass, seven companies have not been presenting a cargo for transportation in the eastern direction,” he emphasized, without naming the consignors. “This is coal, which has always been the most massive cargo east. And the worst thing in this situation is that we do not have official rejoices from our customers and we cannot quickly replace alternative loads today. ”

The head of the Far Eastern Railway, Evgeny Vaade, clarifies that from the beginning of the year almost 1 million tons of loading coal has been lost in the direction. According to him, traditional key partners, such as SUEK and Elgagulle, do not reduce loading, but other consignors with smaller volumes show negative dynamics. The Russian Railways OJSC did not specify the volume of non -editing of coal in agreement with Kuzbass.

In the first quarter, the export transportation of coal in the direction of ports increased by 2.6%, or by 40.6 million tons. The export loading of all goods as a whole increased only on the ports of the Far East (by 4.2%), on the ports of other pools fell. In January – April, the positive dynamics of coal transportation at the eastern training ground remained.

The source of Kommersant in a coal company says that the export of energy coal, which isOThe leapest part of the shipments from Kuzbass really shows negative profitability even through the eastern ports due to strengthening the ruble, falling coal prices and the rise in the cost of logistics. Manufacturers and exporters of metallurgical coal, according to him, maintaining a slightly positive yield of supplies through the ports of the Far East, fulfill all obligations to ship in this direction from Kuzbass, Novosibirsk Region and Yakutia. The situation when the consignors themselves do not choose priority volumes according to the agreements on the premium oriental direction, clearly indicates the most difficult situation in foreign markets, another interlocutor of Kommersant in the industry emphasizes.

Deputy General Director Ipem Vladimir Savchuk believes that the refusal of transportation, even under agreements on guaranteed volumes, is associated with the strengthening of the ruble, which finally brought down the economy of coal exports. According to him, the railway operators in May additionally reduced the rates for the provision of the car (by 22% on innovative and 9% according to the standard for the technical flight during export transportation of coal). And now, the expert says, the provision of innovative wagons, who used to go to the consignor by 10% more than typical, goes almost without a bonus. If earlier, Vladimir Savchuk notes, the south and north-west worked at a loss, now operators work in minus even east.

Now supplies in the eastern direction of ordinary coal, in principle, do not make any sense, said independent industrial expert Maxim Khudalov. Netback, according to his estimates, it turns out less than 1 thousand rubles. per ton minus transport costs at the cost of production from 3.5–4 thousand rubles. per ton. “Therefore, only the volumes of varietal coal are exported, but they are always supplied in small batches and minor supply volumes – 20–25% of the total volume,” the expert says. “Break off,” he continues, the volume of ordinary coal, which was exported eastward to mass consumers.

In such conditions, Mr. Khudalov believes, it may well be that the goods are not presented, while they cannot refuse applications, because the next month they will not receive them. “The hope of Russian coal miners is likely to be that at current prices, American and Australian manufacturers begin to massively bankruptly bankrupt, which will reduce overproduction and lead to an increase in prices,” the analyst believes.

Natalia Skorlygina, Polina Trifonova