China's ethanol imports in December fell by around 31% year on year as the country awaited an import tariff to be implemented in January.
The country imported 124,823 cu m of ethanol last month, compared with 180,983 cu m in December 2015, according to data released by Chinese customs on Tuesday.
The volumes, however, were up from 71,310 cu m in November last year.
Denatured ethanol accounted for more than 99.9% of December's imports, with the US, South Korea and South Africa being the top three suppliers.
Total ethanol imports for 2016 were at 890,140 cu m, up 29.6% from 686,907 cu m in 2015.
Separately, China exported 6,191 cu m of ethanol in December, including 6,188 cu m of undenatured material.
December's exports were up 129% from 2,704 cu m recorded in November, and brought the country's total exports in 2016 to 33,684 cu m.
Top buyers of China's undenatured ethanol include the Philippines, North Korea and Japan.
