China has increased coking coal imports by 17% in six months

In January-June 2022, Chinese steelmakersl companies increased imports of coking coal by 17% compared to the same period in 2021, to 26.06 million tons. SteelOrbis informs about it.

In June, China increased imports of coking coal by 20.5% compared to June 2021 – up to 4.98 million tons. Compared to the previous month, imports increased by 9.1%.

Mongolia became the main supplier of raw materials to China in June. During the month, Chinese steelmakers consumed 2.28 million tons of Mongolian coking coal. The second supplier is Russia – 1.69 million tons, and the third – Canada, 651 thousand tons. Three countries account for 92% of the total import volume for the month.

Imports of coking coal from the United States in June amounted to 78.8 thousand tons, while in the first quarter shipments from the states reached 2.59 million tons.

In 2021, China reduced the import of coking coal by 24.6% compared to 2020, to 54.7 million tons. The decrease was due to government-imposed restriction on the import of raw materials from Australia.

In October 2020, Beijing imposed a ban to import coal from Australia. As a result, 53 bulk carriers with Australian coal have accumulated in Chinese seaports. A total of 4.1 million tons of metals coal was on board of 39 bulk carriers.

Through time China started letting go consumers of coking coal from Australia. It was unloaded at ports until coal import ban came into force. The volume of Australian coking coal, which is stored in Chinese ports, is estimated at 4-5 million tons.

China is the largest steel producer in the world. In 2021 Chinese steelmakers reduced steel production by 3% compared to 2020, to 1.03 billion tons.