China’s June coal imports sink to more than two-year low

BEIJING: China’s June coal importsfell to the lowest monthly level in over two years, General Administration of Customs data showed on Monday, as the country’s miners ramped up domestic production to replace lower-grade coal imports.

China’s June imports were 33.04 million metric tons, the lowest level since February 2023 and down 26% from June a year earlier. That was also down 8% from May.

For the first half of 2025, imports fell 11% year-on-year to 221.7 million tons.

For the full year, imports could fall by between 50 million and 100 million tons, China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association vice president Li Xuegang told the Coaltrans China conference last month. That would equate to as much as an 18% year-on-year drop.

China coal imports could drop by up to 100 million tons in 2025, industry group says

Meanwhile, China’s coal output rose 6% year-on-year in January-May.

As China shifts towards imports of higher-grade coal, that will “translate to a reduction in aggregate import tonnage for any given level of energy production,” LSEG analysts wrote in a note last week.