Poland's state-owned coal mines produced 34.1 million mt of hard coal in the first half of the year, down 7.6% year on year, the Ministry of Economy said in a report released Tuesday.
The mines also made a net loss of Zloty 772.3 million ($237.2 million) in the period due to falling prices and rising costs, the report said.
Europe's thermal coal market was characterized by "low demand, high levels of stockpiled coal and strong competition from alternative energy sources (above all renewable energy and natural gas)," which led to the lowest weekly coal price index in four years, the report said.
Thermal coal production in Poland in January-June totaled 28.45 million mt, down 8% year on year, while coking coal production fell 5.6% to 5.66 million mt.
Hard coal sales volumes fell 4.29 million mt year on year to 31.85 million mt. Thermal coal sales fell 2.4% on the year to 26 million mt, while coking coal sales dropped 9.3% to 5.84 million mt.
Domestic hard coal sales fell 9.2% year on year, thanks mainly to a 12% year on year fall in sales to the country's power and CHP plants, which accounted for 82% of all hard coal sales.
Hard coal exports in January-June fell 26% year on year to 4.35 million mt, with exports by state-owned trader Weglokoks down 28% at 3.41 million mt and direct exports by individual miners down 18% at 938,400 mt.
Of the total exports, 88% went to EU countries. Germany bought 1.15 million mt of thermal coal, almost one-third of total exports to the EU.
Outside the EU, Morocco purchased 326,500 mt of thermal coal, or 70% of the total non-EU exports.
Poland, which is now seeking to increase exports to Ukraine because the conflict there has affected coal production, exported 11,585 mt of coking coal to the country in January-June, but didn't send any thermal coal there.
The amount of coal stockpiled in state-owned Polish collieries at the end of June was 8.33 million mt, up from 7.45 million at the end of March, but down 110,500 mt on the year.
The average hard coal market price in the first half of the year fell 7.7% year on year to Zloty 280.31/mt.
The average thermal coal price fell 5.4%, while the average coking coal price dropped 14.6%.
The sector's average unit coal production cost in the period rose 0.5% year on year to Zloty 311.03/mt.
In January-June the sector made a net loss of Zloty 772.3 million compared with a Zloty 15.6 million net profit in the same period of 2013.
Likewise, sales revenues in the first half fell Zloty 1.12 billion from Zloty 63.9 million in the same period of 2013.
"The worse net financial result in hard coal mining was caused by a fall in coal sales revenues of Zloty 1.12 billion ($344 million)," the ministry said.
