MANILA : Top Philippine coal producer Semirara Mining and Power Corp. said on Thursday it will ship 50,000 tonnes of coal to Japan's Shikoku Electric Power Co Inc., as it diversifies its export markets and cuts reliance on China.
"China is still our main foreign buyer but with their industrial output growing slower than expected, we want to develop other Asian markets like Japan," Semirara president Maria Cristina Gotianun said. The company accounts for 99 per cent of the Philippines' coal output and last year expanded its export markets to include buyers from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and South Korea.
Semirara is targeting full-year sales of 15 million to 16 million tonnes, compared with 2022 sales of 14.8 million tonnes. Most of its coal output is used to fuel domestic power plants, including company-owned facilities.