"The electricity section of our ministry is looking at issues of imposing export duties on low-caking coal," Deputy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky told an energy conference in St. Petersburg.
"My personal opinion...is that this is not the way to go. The way to go is long-term contracts between coal companies and utilities, which is not being done."
The grade -- high calorific low-caking coal -- is largely exported from Russia but demand on domestic markets is high and the grade is often in deficit.
Russian railway data showed that 27 million tonnes of the grade were shipped last year, of which 16 million went to export markets and 11 million to domestic markets.
Russia does not charge export duty on thermal coal at the moment.
The Energy Ministry advises on taxation issues for the energy industry but decisions are taken at the cabinet level. (Reuters)
