PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Despite the downturn in prices, Queensland coal exports were expected to reach a record 220-million tonnes during the 2015 financial year, which ends in June, the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) reported on Monday.

QRC CEO Michael Roche said that there was still significant demand for the state’s commodities, as international markets continued to grow in the face of growing energy demands.

At the end of May, year-to-date coal exports were 200-million tonnes.

“This new record level of coal exports will be 5% higher than last year's 209-million tonnes, driven by continued strong demand from China, Japan, India and Korea for the Bowen basin's high-quality coking coals, used in production of raw steel.

“In the medium term, we expect those Queensland export numbers to increase with the growth in demand for Queensland thermal coal from energy hungry nations such as India,” Roche said.

He pointed to a recent report by the Office of the Chief Economist in the Federal Industry Department, which revealed India's demand for coal was set to grow significantly owing to the construction of new coal-fired power stations that require the high-quality thermal coal Australia can deliver.

Construction in India was also growing and Queensland was ready to supply more of its coking coal to service growing steel production, Roche said.

“The Indian Minister for State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal recently said that coal would remain the mainstay of India's energy needs.

“From 2017, India's new coal-fired projects require high-energy low-ash coal. India's domestic coal is largely high-ash low-energy.”

Roche added that there were about 300-million people in India who did not have access to basic electricity, and added that the Indian government has been clear it wanted to change that.

“Despite the claims of the well-funded anti-coal activist campaign, the future looks bright for Queensland coal to meet strong energy and steel demand in developing nations.”