AKIPRESS.COM - Mongolia's coal export earnings surged nearly fivefold in the first five months of the year with the country taking advantage of sanctions on North Korea to boost deliveries to China, its major customer, Reuters reported citing official data.
The rise in exports contributed to a 69.5-percent increase in Mongolia's foreign trade surplus, which hit $1 billion, the country's statistics office said on Tuesday.
According to the latest data from China's customs authority, Mongolia became China's second biggest supplier of non-lignite coal in the first four months of this year, with deliveries reaching a total of 11.7 million tonnes, more than double the same period of 2016.
The average price of Mongolian coal delivered to China in April stood at $66 a tonne, double the value in April last year, though still much cheaper than the average $122 per tonne for Australian shipments.