According to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in the first quarter of the current year, Turkey's coking coal imports totaled 6.3 million metric tons, decreasing 4.1 percent compared to the same period of 2012.
Turkey's coking coal imports from Russia in the first quarter amounted to 2.2 million mt, down 1.7 percent year on year, with Russia constituting Turkey's largest coking coal source in the period in question. Turkey's coking coal imports from Colombia, which was the second largest coking coal source in the first three months, increased to 1.4 million mt, rising 16.3 percent compared to the first quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, South Africa exported 991,466 metric tons of coking coal to Turkey in the first quarter, falling 7.4 percent year on year.
Turkey's top coking coal import sources in January-March this year:
In March this year, Turkey's coking coal imports amounted to 2.3 million mt, up 3.5 percent year on year and increasing by 16.4 percent compared to February. Turkey's coking coal imports rose moderately in March after indicating a monthly average of 2 million mt in the first two months of the current year, as can be seen in the chart below.