The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) revealed that Indonesia’s coal exports to its main destinations—China and India—have declined. This drop is attributed to the slowing economic growth in both countries.

According to Surya Herjuna, Director of Coal Business Development at the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal (Ditjen Minerba) of ESDM, the government is taking measures to explore new export markets in response. One promising alternative destination is the Philippines, which has recently become a new backbone of Indonesia’s coal export market.

“Based on our data, the Philippines is showing an upward trend. It’s now becoming a major backbone for our coal exports. In other words, we’ve found a new market aside from China and India,” Surya said after attending the Coalindo Coal Conference, as quoted on Thursday (November 6, 2025).

Surya noted that the steady demand for coal from the Philippines is likely due to the country’s continued reliance on coal-fired power plants (CFPPs). Considering that the Philippines is an archipelagic nation, it requires significant power generation capacity across its many islands.

“Most of their territory consists of islands, so they naturally need large power plants on each of them,” he explained.

Previously, the Indonesia Mining Association (IMA) had already projected a decline in coal export volumes to key markets such as China and India. According to their analysis, this downward trend likely started earlier this year.

IMA’s Executive Director, Hendra Sinadia, stated that this condition reflects a shift in demand patterns for Indonesian coal. Rather than boosting imports, these countries are increasingly focused on optimizing their domestic coal production.

Hendra pointed out that, much like Indonesia, export destination countries aim to strengthen their economies by relying on local coal output. In fact, China’s domestic coal production last year reached nearly 5 billion tons.

“They want to advance their coal industries and increase production since their energy needs are growing. That’s why their domestic output has surged,” Hendra said during an interview in Jakarta, Wednesday (July 23, 2025).

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s own coal production has risen significantly over the past year. However, this increase has not been matched by demand from major export markets.

“Since 2023, after the COVID pandemic subsided, we have predicted a condition of oversupply. This trend continues today and is expected to persist into next year. Consequently, our export volume will likely remain lower than last year’s,” Hendra concluded.