Vietnam's coal imports rose on the year in October, despite weak coal-fired power generation due to rainy weather and strong hydropower output in the country.

Seaborne coal imports were at 4.83mn t in October, up by 11.3pc on the year and from 3.96mn t in September, Vietnamese customs data show. Imports from January-October totalled 55.6mn t, edging up by 2pc in the same period from 2024. Vietnam's customs data does not distinguish between coking and thermal coal.

Australian coal accounted for 42pc of Vietnam's imports at 2.05mn t in October up by 72pc from 1.19mn t a year earlier, customs data show. Imports from Australia in the first ten months of the year reached nearly 19mn t, up from around 15mn t in the same period from 2024.

Imports from Indonesia were at 1.9mn t in October, down by 21pc from a year earlier, according to customs data. Indonesian receipts reached 21.6mn t in January-October, down from 22.2mn t a year earlier. Indonesian coal accounted for 40pc of coal imports to Vietnam in October.

Russian shipments reached 572,000t in October, more than triple on the year from 183,000t in 2024. Russian coal accounted for nearly 12pc of coal imports in October. Vietnam imported 5.6mn t of coal from Russia over January-October, up from 4.78mn t a year earlier.

The country was likely stocking up on coal to ensure baseload and generator capacity while Vietnam's sole electricity provider, EVN, works to restore hydropower reservoirs to normal levels. Flooding and heavy rain have affected the safety of hydropower facilities, and efforts are underway to manage reservoir water levels, according to EVN.

Overall power demand was at 26.2TWh in October, up from 25.5TWh a year earlier, according to data from energy think-tank Ember. However, coal-fired generation remains weaker on the year. Vietnam's coal fired generation was at 9.38TWh in October, down from 10.7TWh a year earlier but up from 9.17TWh in September, Ember data show.

Hydropower output remains strong at 13.3TWh in October, up from 10.7TWh in October 2024 and 11.9TWh in September. Heavy rain and typhoons in Vietnam supported this increase, weighing on coal-fired generation.