Vietnam's coal imports hit record high in 2025

Vietnam’s total coal imports reached a record high of 65.43 million tonnes in 2025, up 2.6% year on year, although the pace of growth slowed compared with previous years, according to the latest data from Vietnam Customs cited by mysteel.net.

The main driver of the Southeast Asian country's rising coal imports was robust power generation demand fueled by its booming industrial production, export manufacturing and accelerated urbanization process. Coal-fired power plants consume more than 90% of the country's imported coal volumes, with the rest used by the cement, steel, fertilizer, and textiles industries.

Vietnam has emerged as a new global manufacturing hub in recent years, as the country's lower labour costs and tax advantages attract influxes of foreign investments. In addition, the erratic hydropower output – generating around 30% of Vietnam's total electricity – has driven the country to import more coal cargoes to ensure a stable power supply, Mysteel Global noted.

In the early months of 2025, Vietnam's coal imports surged steadily, peaking at 7.2 million tonnes in May. However, the pace of imports began to slow down from June, which reduced the growth rate of the full-year import volumes.

Read also: Vietnam's coal imports rise in October, Indonesian volumes soften

Vietnam's coal imports rebounded in the last month of 2025, hitting a five-month high of 4.88 million tonnes with a 27.8% jump from November, though they remained 11.5% lower on a yearly basis, according to the Customs data.

The import value last month also jumped by 31.5% on month to $497.4 million, translating to an average import price of $102 per tonne, edging up from November's average of $99.1 per tonne, Mysteel Global calculated based on the Customs statistics.

By country, Indonesia maintained its dominant position in Vietnam's coal import mix last month, with its share swelling to 48.4%, the highest in 2025. December shipments from Indonesia to Vietnam registered 2.36 million tonnes, up by a significant 50.3% from the prior month yet lower by 16.8% from December 2024, according to the Customs data.

Indonesian medium-calorific-value thermal coal, like 5,000 kcal/kg NAR coal, is a perfect fit for Vietnam's power plants, and the country's geographic proximity ensures low freight costs and steady delivery, market sources disclosed.

The second-largest supplier Australia delivered 1.25 million tonnes of coal to Vietnam last month, representing a smaller 25.5% share in Vietnam's total imports. The volume grew 4.7% on month while staying 20% lower on year.

Shipments from Russia were reported at 834,170 tonnes in the same month, surging 65.7% from November and higher by 76.9% on year, the data showed.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak