"Most Australian Coal Previously Held at Chinese Ports Has Been Imported and Consumed"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Australian coal, which had been banned from import and stuck at ports due to diplomatic disputes between China and Australia, has reportedly been imported and consumed. This is attributed to the lifting of the unloading ban as coal demand surged amid worsening power shortages in China.

On the 23rd (local time), Bloomberg News cited data from Pengguang Coal Logistics, a local Chinese research firm, reporting that a significant amount of coal previously stuck at Chinese ports due to unloading bans was imported into and consumed within China. According to Pengguang Coal Logistics' analysis of China's customs data for the fourth quarter of last year, 6.2 million tons of Australian metallurgical coal and 550 tons of thermal coal were ultimately imported into China.

Previously, the Chinese government had banned imports of Australian coal from the end of 2020 due to diplomatic disputes with Australia, and Australian coal that had already been imported was stuck at ports. Chinese authorities prohibited coal unloading, and Chinese importers prevented coal-carrying vessels from leaving the ports, resulting in dozens of ships carrying Australian coal remaining offshore near Chinese ports for several months.

Bloomberg News explained that the customs data figures are similar to industry estimates, suggesting that most of this coal was consumed during China's power shortage in the fall of last year. It particularly pointed out that only the United States and Canada benefited from China's previous import ban. Bloomberg reported that this was because the Chinese government, facing difficulties importing coal from Mongolia?another major coal supplier?due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had no choice but to increase imports from the United States and Canada, which it had previously been reluctant to do.

According to Pengguang Coal Logistics, China's metallurgical coal imports last year decreased by about 25% to 55 million tons, but imports from the United States increased nearly tenfold, accounting for 20% of total imports. Additionally, Canadian metallurgical coal imports roughly doubled, with their share approaching 20%.