Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is ramping up supervision of coal mining operations to ensure production stays on target and to address a recent slump in coal exports.
Speaking at an event in Jakarta on Tuesday, Siti Sumilah Rita Susilawati, Secretary of the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, said the decline in coal exports is largely due to global market dynamics, which are beyond the government's control.
"Coal has long supported the national economy. Hopefully, the impact this year will not be too severe," she said.
In response, the government has not only tightened production monitoring but also reinforced the use of a benchmark coal price to stabilize domestic pricing.
The ministry began reviewing the export slowdown following a March 2025 report by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), which showed that the value of coal exports fell by 5.54% month-on-month to US$1.97 billion. Year-on-year, the drop was more pronounced—down 23.14% from US$2.56 billion in March 2024.
Coal export volume in March 2025 also declined to 30.73 million tons, compared to 30.82 million tons in February and 33.31 million tons a year earlier. Meanwhile, average coal prices slid to US$64.04 per ton in March, down from US$67.60 in February and US$76.85 in March 2024.
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Adding to the pressure, Indonesia’s coal exports to China—its biggest buyer—fell 20% in April to 14.29 million tons, according to Chinese customs data reported by Reuters. The sharp decline follows Jakarta’s decision to enforce the government-set benchmark price (HBA) on international sales beginning March 1. Previously used only for royalty calculations, the HBA is now required for all domestic and export transactions.
However, Chinese buyers and international traders have pushed back, criticizing the index as opaque and costlier than other pricing mechanisms. Falling domestic coal prices in China have also reduced demand for imports, with the country’s total coal imports dropping 16% year-on-year in April.
The downward trend is also seen in exports to India, Indonesia’s second-largest coal export market. According to the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (ICMA), coal shipments to India dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2025, falling 18.5% year-on-year to 24.36 million tons, down from 29.9 million tons in the same period last year.
“For March 2025 alone, coal exports to India totaled just 7.42 million tons—a year-on-year decrease of 31.42% compared to March 2024,” said Gita Mahyarani, Acting Executive Director of the ICMA (APBI/ICMA), in an interview with Petromindo.com on May 9.
Despite global market challenges, the ministry expressed hope that coal would continue to play a stabilizing role in Indonesia’s economy throughout 2025.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak
