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China's imports of Australian coal rise to almost 4-year high in April

China's imports of Australian coal in April increased to the highest level because July 2020, records and customs data showed on Monday, because of enhancing trade relations and tariff benefits.

The country imported 7.19 million metric tons of Australian coal last month, according to data from the General Administration of Custom-mades. That represents a 25% increase from the same month of 2019, before a years-long unofficial restriction on Australian coal imports.

Australian coal exports to China have been recuperating considering that February 2023, when China ended the ban in location considering that 2020, after trade relations enhanced between the two countries.

Australian exporters have likewise taken advantage of an open market agreement that allows Australian coal to enter China tariff-free.

China reinstated a 3% -6% import tariff at the start of the year on countries without a contract, applying to Russian and Mongolian coal imports.

The nation likewise increased coal imports from sanction-hit Russia and neighbouring Mongolia last month, the data revealed, to offset domestic production cuts.

Russian coal imports ticked up 5% year-on-year to 8.49 million heaps, regardless of sanctions affecting significant Russian coal traders. The boost came mostly from coking coal imports, which increased by 18%.

China's total coal imports increased 11% in April to 45.25 million tons as domestic production failed to fulfill demand.

Safety inspections have actually curbed production in the main coking coal producing center of Shanxi, where output dipped by 18.9% in the first quarter of the year.

Imports from Mongolia, primarily coking coal, likewise helped fill the space, increasing by 33% last month to 7.2 million loads.

Indonesia, China's largest coal supplier, delivered 17.82 million metric tonnes in April, down 15% from a year earlier.

(source: Reuters)