Hard coal import dependence of Poland

Abstract

The import of hard coal to Poland has only been practiced for several years. Since the very beginning of the Polish mining industry, the country has been an exporter of this raw material. Hard coal was exported during the interwar period, and after the Second World War hard coal exports were the state's main means to raise foreign currency. For several decades, Poland was within the top ten producers of this raw material worldwide, and in the period from the middle seventies to the middle eighties of the last century, Polish hard coal exports hovered around 40 mln tons, which was L' of the state's production. However, at the beginning of the XXI century the situation had changed. Each year, hard coal exports decreased, while hard coal imports increased. This was related on the one hand to the increasing cost of domestic hard coal production, while on the other it resulted from the inflow of cheap raw materials mainly from the adjacent Eastern countries. Imports of hard coal into Poland from Russia, the Czech Republic, USA, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Columbia, as major suppliers, is described in this study. Such countries as South Africa or Australia, which are considered to be the greatest global hard coal exporters, and which deliver hard coal to Western Europe, are also mentioned. However, their coal is rather rarely purchased by Poland. Domestic export and consumption of hard coal in the years 2000-2010 was also presented in order to define the dependence on exports. This dependence continuously increases, which is inconvenient because it reflects a bigger and bigger Polish dependence on foreign suppliers. This should not, however, be alarming because the value of this factor is very small. Only in the year 2011 did it exceed (slightly) 10%, and in the year 2012 it decreased again to below 5%. As compared with the dependence on natural gas imports, which amounts to 70%, or with dependence on oil imports amounting to 97%, this is quite minor. Nevertheless, Poland's dependence on imports should be continuously monitored with respect to domestic Polish mineral resources, as a majority of country's economy is based on domestic raw materials. This is usually more profitable economically and assures greater safety of strategic security of supplies of a given raw material. This study presents an analysis of hard coal imports into Poland in the period 2000-2012, as well as the most important factors related with the export and consumption of hard coal in order to execute suitable calculations. The greatest emphasis was placed on imports, as they are the major target of this study.