VLADIVOSTOK, September 5. /TASS/. Russia’s coal production may decline by about 6% year-on-year in 2022 due to the impact of the embargo on the supply of coal to the EU, Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov said in an interview with TASS at the Eastern Economic Forum.

"Since the beginning of the year, we have observed a decrease in production by about 0.7%. By the end of the year, it will already be about 6% compared to the level of 2021 due to the impact of the embargo on the supply of coal to the EU. We will meet the needs of the domestic market in full" the minister said.

"It is also encouraging that there is interest in our coal. China, India, the Middle East are increasing its purchases, so we do not expect a strong drop. There are logistical restrictions, they may not allow reaching the level of last year, but getting closer to this level is realistic," Shulginov added.

Earlier, head of the coal industry department at the Energy Ministry, Petr Bobylev, told TASS that Russia was negotiating with China to increase coal supplies to the republic.

In turn, India also plans to increase imports of Russian coal to 40 million tonnes by 2035. At the same time, Bobylev admitted that the indicators of coal production and export by the end of 2022 would be lower "by a certain percentage."

On August 10, 2022, the EU embargo on coal supplies from Russia came into force.

According to Central Dispatching Department of the Fuel and Energy Complex, in 2021, coal production in Russia amounted to 438.1 million tonnes, and exports - 214.4 million tonnes.

Organized by the Roscongress Foundation, the Seventh Eastern Economic Forum will be running from September 5 to September 8 in Vladivostok. TASS is the event’s general information partner and its official photohost agency. This year, the theme of the forum is: "On the Path to a Multipolar World."