Kazakhstan's thermal coal production decreases by 2% from January to April.

Kazakhstan's thermal coal output decreased by 2% year-on-year to 35.38 million tons from January to April, as the energy ministry aims to increase production and investments to achieve its annual goal following a sluggish start to the year.

In April, thermal coal production dropped by 2.3% compared to last year, totaling 7.67 million tons, and it fell by 19% from March's 9.48 million tons, according to data from the National Statistics of Kazakhstan. Overall coal production, including coking coal, also declined by 1.2% year-on-year to 36.95 million tons.

The output in Kazakhstan began slowly this year, with first-quarter production down by 2% to 27.7 million tons. Nevertheless, the energy ministry reiterated its 2026 target of 128.9 million tons. The ministry is working to attract more investments to the coal sector, projecting 553.5 billion tenge ($1.19 billion) for this year, an increase from 305 billion tenge in 2025. This initiative is part of a wider strategy to enhance the coal sector through a national project aimed at increasing coal-fired generation capacity by 2030.

To meet its annual target, the country needs to average approximately 11.69 million tons per month until December. Total production reached 111.5 million tons in 2025.

While most of Kazakhstan's coal production is used domestically, the country intends to increase exports this year from the 30 million tons sent to markets like Poland, Uzbekistan, Turkey, India, and Malaysia in 2025.

Kazakhstan is a preferred source of coal for Poland, often selling sized coal at premiums to the European benchmark API 2 index. Offers for sized Kazakh coal of 0-300mm reached as high as $130 per ton cif Gdansk last week. As of May 15, the NAR 6,000 kcal/kg cif Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp market was assessed at $110.38 per ton.

Kazakh thermal coal imports in Turkey reached a record 551,000 tons in March, reducing the market share of Russian thermal coal shipments to Turkey during that month.

Additionally, coal deliveries by rail increased by 5% year-on-year to 76.1 million tons during the 2025-26 heating season, as reported by rail operator KTZ earlier this month. Kazakhstan's heating season typically spans from mid-October to April. KTZ indicated that it transported 69.8 million tons to combined heat and power plants and 6.3 million tons to the municipal sector.

The rail operator has started preparations for the upcoming autumn-winter season, with scheduled repairs and maintenance underway on key routes used for coal transportation.