Vietnam's coal imports increased notably in March 2026, rising nearly 10% compared to the previous month. Imports from Indonesia saw particularly strong growth, both month-on-month and year-on-year.

Vietnam imported 5.43 million tonnes of coal (including foreign-invested enterprises) in March, down 16.72% from the same month last year, but up 9.59% on the month, showed preliminary data released by Vietnam customs.

Indonesia remained Vietnam's largest coal supplier in March, with imports reaching 2.69 million tonnes, an increase of 6.64% year-on-year and 34.9% month-on-month. Imports from Australia totaled 1.30 million tonnes, down 34.46% from a year earlier and 15.81% from February.

Vietnam imported 880,600 tonnes of coal from Russia in March, up 75.11% year-on-year and 32.29% month-on-month. Coal imports from Laos stood at 230,100 tonnes, a decline of 44.54% compared to March 2025 but a sharp increase of 222% from February.

The value of Vietnam's coal imports in March was $601 million, down 7.11% YoY but up 11.65% from the previous month.

In the first quarter of 2026, Vietnam's total coal imports reached 16.58 million tonnes, a decrease of 4.02% from the same period last year. The import value stood at $1.81 billion, down slightly by 0.42% YoY.