China imported 35.61 million tons of coal last month, which was a 23% decline on the year, Reuters has reported, citing official data from the country’s customs agency. The number, however, was an increase from June, when coal imports sank to the lowest in two years.
The coal import decline was attributable to strong domestic production that reduced the need for purchases from abroad. Also, power generation from other baseload installations, notably hydro, and also wind and solar, capped demand for coal generation. Exports accelerated as well, thanks to the ample domestic supply. Over the first five months of the year, Chinese coal exports rose by 13%.
Chinese coal purchases for the first half of 2025 were down by 11% from a year ago, to 221.7 million tons. Imports for the full year are set to be between 50 million tons and 100 million tons lower compared to 2024, the local industry association, China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association, said last month. Factors affecting imports include the real estate sector crisis, weaker industrial growth, and the increase in domestic production.
Domestic coal production surged to a record high in the period January to May, and full-year output is set to rise by an estimated 5%. Meanwhile, after a decline in new coal power plant approvals last year, the trend has reversed this year and more new facilities are getting the green light.
According to recently reported Greenpeace data, China approved 11.29 gigawatts of new coal power capacity in the first quarter of 2025. This pace of coal-fired generation capacity approvals already exceeds the 10 GW China approved in the first half of 2024. Last year saw a significant shift in coal power approvals, with a 41.5% year-on-year drop in approvals to 62.24 GW, marking the first annual decline since 2021.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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