Most countries at a recent coal market conference in Singapore talked about coal demand, given their rising power needs, while Mongolia was alone in saying its coal reserves of 162.3 billion tons would enable it to increase supply to the international market. The conference focused on two main issues –— the demand for coal as a source of energy, and coal pricing.  Spokespersons from different countries, including Thailand, South Korea, India and China highlighted their domestic demand for power generation, with coal as their main source of energy, thereby limiting coal exports.

Demand for coal as a source of energy is growing faster than for other sources.  In 2000-2008, the average annual demand growth rate for coal was 4.7 percent, higher than for gas at 2.7 percent and 1.4 percent for oil.  A World Energy Agency analyst says long-term demand for coal will rise most in absolute terms.