China's coking coal imports rise 27% y-o-y in Jan-May'24

In May, total imports declined by 11.6% on month to reach 9.7 mnt after rising for the previous two months, GACC data show. Nonetheless, the May total was still higher by an enormous 44.1% from the same month in 2023.

One of the causes for the on-month decline in May was the holiday break spanning May 1-5 for China's Labour Day holiday, during which period Chinese Customs officials either halted or slowed their import clearance procedures, Mysteel Global noted.

For instance, border checkpoints located in North China's Inner Mongolia, vital channels for coking coal imports from China's top supplier, Mongolia, were closed for a total of five days last month, four for China's Labour Day holiday and one for Mongolia's Buddha Day on May 23, Mysteel Global learned.

Fewer working days for Customs clearance, coupled with the lower cost effectiveness of Mongolian coking coal, resulted in a 9% drop in coking coal imports from Mongolia last month from April, reaching 4.9 million tonnes. The volume was 59.5% higher from the May 2023 level, however.

In fact, China received fewer coking coal cargoes from most of its major suppliers in May compared with April. Imports from Russia fell by 7.8% on month to 2.8 million tonnes, while Canada-origin supplies were lower by 18.3% on month at 746,000 tonnes, the GACC data indicate. The United States shipped 501,600 tonnes of coking coal to China in May, also down by 16.7% on month.

Meanwhile, China's intake of Australian coking coal slumped by 78.2% on month to 171,100 tonnes in May, just in the wake of a massive surge of 573.7% on month in April. The tonnage also slipped by 37.6% from the 280,000 tonnes in May last year, according to the official data.

"China is no longer an essential target market for Australian coking coal suppliers," a market analyst based in Shanghai said. Chief buyers of Australian coking coal such as India increased their pre-monsoon restocking in May, and priority was given to their demand, she explained.

Indonesia was the only country among China's top six coking coal suppliers to enjoy a lift in deliveries in May. The tonnage was small at 166,300 tonnes, but it logged a marked rise of 65.1% rise on month, the GACC data show.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.