Import of Russian coal to Poland is growing again

Recently, Polish heating plants have chosen to supply coal from Russia because it is cheaper than local raw materials.

Official figures provided last week show that between January and May 2016, 3.1 million tons of foreign-origin coal were imported to Poland, while a year ago in the same period, the volume of coal from different countries amounted to 2.8 million. tons.

Poland's total annual coal imports reached 15 million tonnes at their peak in 2011, but fell to 8.2 million tonnes last year. At the same time, last year in the Polish market, supplies of own production amounted to 72.2 million tons of coal.

Coal imported to Poland has a clear geographical coverage: raw coal from Russia, Colombia, Czech Republic. The recipients are intermediaries who ensure its supply to heating plants and households. To counter this trend, the Energy Department is considering additional taxes on coal from outside the EU.