Turkey's marketable production of solids fuels declined in April on a monthly basis, according to Turkey's Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Friday.
Production of hard coal amounted to 100,496 tonnes, a 7.28% month-on-month decrease in April, lignite also saw a 0.15% fall to 6.27 tonnes, while coke derived from hard coal produced 372,874 tonnes - a 3.35% monthly decrease, TurkStat's data showed.
The data also revealed that deliveries in April totaled 2.1 million tonnes for hard coal, a 21.85% decrease compared to March 2019, while lignite deliveries fell 5.08% to 5.8 tonnes and deliveries of coke derived from hard coal also declined by 7.75% to 410,757 tonnes over the same period.
The lowest ratio of marketable production to deliveries was seen in hard coal with 4.6%. This ratio was 90.8% for coke derived from hard coal and 106.4% for lignite.
The percentage breakdown of hard coal distribution was 51.7% to thermal power plants, 23% to coking plants, and 7.9% to the industrial sector (except the iron and steel industry). For lignite distribution, thermal power plants received 88.1%, and the industrial sector (except the iron and steel industry) received 8.6%. Coke derived from hard coal contributed 97.2% to the iron and steel industry.
Turkey's major natural resources include coal, lignite, and gold. The country is planning to maximize the use of domestic resources to generate electricity in order to reduce natural gas imports.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr