ARP says coal sales comparable to previous years

In spite of a reported reduction in coal production in 2016, the Agency of Industrial Development (the ARP) stated in a press release on Monday that there was reason for optimism. “It is worth noting that sales of coal, amounting to [approximately] 73 million tons, are comparable with the average sales over the last five years,” said ARP’s Katowice branch director Henryk Paszczy. Furthermore, the ARP hinted that the overall reduction of production, y/y, could be attributed at least partly to restructuring. Production for 2016 was down by 1.8 million tons, to 70.4 million tons. Sector-specifically, steam production was down 3.4 percent, whereas coking coal increased by 1.7 percent. The ARP saw this as a positive development for the industry, given that last year the Jastrzębska Coal Company, which is a major producer of coking coal used in steel production was under the threat of bankruptcy. Nevertheless, many industry experts have stated the higher sales-than-production ratio simply reflects decreasing stockpiles of coal in the country.