According to China's General Administration of Customs, China's coal imports in July totaled 13.88 million mt, down 14 percent month on month, but still relatively high compared with the average monthly import volume of 3.4 million mt in 2008. Meanwhile, China's July coking coal imports were up six percent to 4.9 million mt, accounting for more than one third of the country's total coal imports.
From January to July, China's total coal imports amounted to 62.16 million mt, up 150 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, coal exports continued to shrink sharply, falling to 1.24 million mt in July, down 3.53 million mt or 74 percent year on year. In the first seven months of 2009, China's coal exports came to 12.92 million mt, down 57.3 percent year on year.