Russia plans trial pellet shipments to China in November

Russia plans trial shipments of fuel pellets to China in November 2026, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said after talks between the countries’ prime ministers in St Petersburg.

Reshetnikov said the countries had agreed to remove restrictions on pellet imports. A difference in classification had complicated the talks: China treated the granules as waste, while Russia regarded them as fuel. Chinese requirements were gradually adjusted, he said.

Russian producers had already made small, occasional shipments to individual Chinese provinces in 2026, Interfax reported. The industry is seeking conditions for large-scale exports after losing access to European markets, its main export destination before 2022.

Russian fuel pellet output totaled 792 thousand tonnes in January–August 2026, down 0.1%. August production fell 32.6% from the same month a year earlier to 84 thousand tonnes.