According to the data issued by Chinese customs on November 10, in the first 10 months of the current year China's coal exports aggregated 16.3 million mt, down 13.7 percent from the same period of 2009. In the first ten months, the value of China's coal exports aggregated $1.881 billion, down 8.4 percent year on year, with an average export price level of $115.4/mt, up six percent year on year.
According to the customs data, China's coal exports in October 2010 totaled 1.21 million mt, down 40 percent year on year. Due to the recent surge in coal prices, Chinese exports of coal in the fourth quarter this year may indicate a relative decline. In light of current exports, it is estimated that China's coal exports for 2010 may total 20 million mt, down approximately 2 million mt compared to the full year of 2009. Meanwhile, China's annual net coal imports are expected to total around 130 million mt in 2010, increasing by 20 million mt year on year.
On the other hand, China imported 121.87 million mt of coal in the first three quarters of this year, up 42.2 percent year on year，with 15.32 million mt of coal imports registered in September this year. According to insiders, China's annual coal imports are expected to exceed 150 million mt this year, and are expected to remain in the range of 150-180 million mt in each of the next two years.