China’s coal imports have dropped by 74.1% on a month-on-month basis to 3.96 million metric tons (MnT) in December 2019, as compared to 15.30 MnT in the previous month of November, continuing the falling trend for the fourth consecutive month, as per the latest vessel lineup customs data compiled by CoalMint Research.
Further, on a year-on-year basis, the country’s coal import shrunk by 53.3% than the shipment volume of 8.48 MnT in December 2018.
However, China’s coal imports have totaled 210.35 MnT in 2019, up 5.9% against the aggregate imports of 198.60 MnT recorded during the previous year 2018.
Source: Custom Provisional Data, CoalMint Research | Quantity in MnT
Notably, the modest rise in coal import volumes into China counters earlier expectations that shipments would be capped by Beijing at the same level as 2018.
This also comes even after Beijing has pledged to curb coal use to tackle persistent severe pollution in the world’s top energy market.
Last year it took drastic measures to cap its shipments, halting all clearance of coal cargoes at major ports in December, which sent imports plunging down that month.
Major Coal Exporters to China in Dec’19:
A country wise breakup of the monthly import data reveals that the major proportion of China’s coal shipments originated from Mongolia, constituting the highest share of about 46%.
Nevertheless, Mongolian coal exports to China decreased by 39.1% M-o-M to 1.81 MnT in Dec’19 against 2.97 MnT in Nov’19.
Moreover, Chinese coal imports from Russia fell by 77.3% to 0.50 MnT in Dec’19, against 2.19 MnT in Nov’19.
Furthermore, Chinese coal imports from Australia fell by 89.7% to 0.46 MnT in Dec’19, against 4.51 MnT in Nov’19.
Contrarily, Saudi Arabian coal exports to China surged by a whopping 189.7% to 0.31 MnT in Dec’19, against 0.11 MnT in Nov’19.
Source: CoalMint Research | Quantity in MnT
The following table provides a more detailed breakup of the coal exporting countries to China.
| Country | Dec’19 | Nov’19 | Change |
| Mongolia | 1,810,340 | 2,970,849 | -39.1% |
| Russia | 497,078 | 2,191,951 | -77.3% |
| Australia | 464,750 | 4,510,063 | -89.7% |
| Saudi Arabia | 310,116 | 107,031 | 189.7% |
| USA | 189,326 | 346,437 | -45.4% |
| South Korea | 179,547 | 176,841 | 1.5% |
| Malaysia | 101,831 | 43,268 | 135.3% |
| Singapore | 88,455 | 73,521 | 20.3% |
| Indonesia | 68,779 | 3,735,622 | -98.2% |
| Colombia | 49,001 | 389,610 | -87.4% |
| Canada | 40,893 | 394,410 | -89.6% |
| Others | 160,322 | 365,129 | |
| TOTAL | 3,960,438 | 15,304,732 | -74.1% |
Source: CoalMint Research | Quantity in MT
Leave a Reply