Vietnam seeks to import more coal from Australia to avert power shortage

[HANOI] Vietnam is seeking to import more coal from Australia to ease a shortage of the fossil fuel for electricity production, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Friday (Apr 1).

The ministry has asked the Australian embassy in Hanoi to arrange a meeting with Australian suppliers to sign new contracts, aiming to have the additional coal delivered from later this month, it said after a meeting between minister Nguyen Hong Dien and Australian ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie.

Vietnam's state-run utility EVN on Wednesday warned of electricity shortages from next month due to tight coal supplies, adding that several of its coal-fired power plants had to cut their run rates.

Vietnam turned from a net coal exporter to a net importer nearly a decade ago and has been importing the fuel mainly from Indonesia and Australia.

Vietnam's coal imports from Australia totalled 15.6 million tonnes last year, accounting for 43 per cent of its total coal imports, according to government customs data. REUTERS