In the first four months this year, China imported 75.406 million mt of coal, down 16.2 percent year on year.
In April alone, China imported 23.549 million mt of coal, down 8.4 percent year on year, while up 43.4 percent month on month.
With the Russia-Ukraine war resulting in the blockade of the Russian economy and the US dollar payment system paralyzed in Russia, Russia focused on exporting to China at discounted prices and paying in the Chinese currency. Market analysts forecast that more Russian coal will be supplied to the Chinese market starting from May as payments will be easier in the future.