South African mining companies have significantly increased shipments of thermal coal to Israel despite South Africa’s hardline diplomatic stance against the Israeli government.

The surge follows Colombia’s full halt of coal exports to Israel, creating a gap in a market previously dominated by Colombian coal.

In August 2024, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his government was “officially” halting coal exports to Israel, citing the use of Colombian coal in weapons deployed during Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

“Colombian coal is used to make bombs to kill Palestinian children,” Petro said at the time in a post on X, defending the decision as a response to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

However, the initial announcement did not immediately stop all shipments due to legal loopholes that allowed some deliveries to continue under existing contracts.

Coal is Colombia’s second most valuable export after oil. In 2023, it shipped nearly $447 million worth of coal to Israel, accounting for 5% of total exports and nearly half of Israel’s coal imports.

By August 2024, roughly 41% of its coal imports originated from Colombia, with Glencore and US-based Drummond as the main suppliers.

As Colombian exports fell to zero in the three months ended November, South Africa stepped in to fill much of the shortfall.

South African coal exports to Israel rose 87% year on year to 474,000 metric tonnes during that period, with nearly 170,000 tonnes expected to be shipped this month, according to shipping data.

The increase pushed Israel’s total coal imports up 20% to 667,442 tonnes in the three months to October, the highest level for any three-month period since February 2017, based on official South African customs figures.

Source: Africabusinessinsider