Bangladesh lifts ban on Meghalaya coal

SHILLONG: Bangladesh has lifted the ban imposed on imports of coal from Meghalaya.

The ban was imposed on June 30, 2009, citing high sulphur content in coal mined from Meghalaya which causes pollution but, users prefer it for its low ash content, officials said.

This is the sixth time in eight years that the Bangladesh government has imposed the ban, but every time it lifted the embargo after a couple of weeks due to pressure from the country's trading lobbies.

An official of Ghasuapara Coal Exporters' Association said that the brick kilns in Bangladesh prefer Meghalaya coal due to its low ash content.

Meghalaya exports around 5 lakh million tonnes (MT) of coal extracted from underground pits and bowels to Bangladesh every year at a cost of 52 dollars per MT.

Exporters are likely to resume the coal supply to Bangladesh by the end of this month.