Polish coal production down 5 percent

Photo: wikipedia

Meanwhile, production costs have risen by 0.6 percent.

The relatively high costs of producing coal in Poland mean that the country is importing more than it is exporting.

In Poland, the cost of producing one tonne of coal is about 100 dollars, whereas in Russia it is between 5 to 15 dollars.

“The worst year was 2011 when imports exceeded 16 million tonnes, with exports of 4 million tonnes,” noted former deputy minister of the economy Jerzy Markowski (Democrartic Left Alliance), in an interview with Polish Radio.

“This year, imports amounted to 8 million tonnes of export 4 million tonnes. So we bought two times more than we sold.”

Poland's ministry of the economy has called upon the country's coal producers to cut costs by 5 percent by the end of the year.

Coal produces over 90 percent of the country's electricity, and the industry employs over 100,000 people.

Meanwhile, Poland is currently attempting to diversify its energy resources (including the exploitation of its shale gas resources), partly as a means of addressing its high level of CO2 emissions. (nh)