Coal imports into China declined 15.5% in Jan’17 over that in Dec’16, an analysis of the recently released data by China Customs shows.
Coal imports into the country in Jan’17 were at 16.28 MnT against the imports of 19.26 MnT in the previous month.
Amongst the importing countries, Australia accounted for the largest share in the total imports during the month.
Notably, there was no import from North Korea during the month under consideration. It may be recalled that China had in Feb’17 banned all coal imports from North Korea for 2017, following the Korean nation testing a ballistic missile in defiance to UN restrictions.
COAL IMPORTS INTO CHINA IN JAN’17
| Quantity in MnT | ||
| Country | Import in Jan,17 | Import in Dec’16 |
| Australia | 7.27 | 6.76 |
| Indonesia | 3.67 | 4.63 |
| Mongolia | 3.12 | 3.48 |
| Russia | 1.65 | 1.85 |
| Canada | 0.41 | 0.29 |
| US | 0.11 | 0.00 |
| Vietnam | 0.04 | 0.08 |
| Kirghizstan | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| Kazakhstan | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| North Korea | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| New Zealand | 0.00 | 0.06 |
| Iran | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| Malaysia | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| TOTAL | 16.28 | 19.26 |
Source: CoalMint Research
The decline in imports was a consequence of the Chinese government’s efforts to lower coal usage in energy generation by emphasizing upon renewable sources. In 2016, the share of coal in the energy mix in China shrunk to 62% from 64% in 2015.
Leave a Reply