DMCI Holdings Inc. subsidiary Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) said it is set to make its second trial shipment to Japan this June, in a bid to reduce its dependency on the Chinese market.
In a press statement on Thursday, June 1, 2023, the integrated energy company said it will export 50,000 metric tons (MT) of Semirara coal to Shikoku Electric Power Corp. for its 700-megawatt coal fired ultra-supercritical power station.
SMPC president and chief operating officer Maria Cristina Gotianun said China is still the company’s main foreign buyer, but added that with the East Asian country’s industrial output growing slower than expected, SMPC wants “to develop other Asian markets like Japan.” From January to March, Semirara coal shipments to China plunged by 50 percent from 2.2 million MT to 1.1 million MT, accounting for 72 percent of exports.
South Korea was a steady market at 300,000 MT, representing one-fifth of export sales.
The rest of the exports went to Japan (five percent) and Brunei (three percent). SMPC first made a trial shipment to Japan in January 2023, selling 78,410 MT of mid-grade coal to J-Power, a utility company that operates coal, hydroelectric, wind and geothermal power stations. (PR)