China coking coal import volume saw a slight decline in 2018, according to China's customs data released Saturday.
China's coking coal import fell 8.11% to 64.23 million mt in 2018, down from 69.90 million mt in 2017.
Imports from major coking coal producers in Australia, Canada and the US to China declined in 2018.
Imports from Australia fell 10.45% to 27.74 million mt, while imports from Canada fell 49.81% to 2.13 million mt.
US' coking coal imports to China fell 29.81% to 1.97 million mt.
Several factors accounted for the drop in import volumes. From train railing constraints in Australia due to a spat between local authorities, and trade tensions between the US and China, which eventually saw China slapping an additional 25% import tariff on US coking coals in August 2018.
Meanwhile, imports from Mongolia inched 5.36% higher to 27.67 million mt in 2018, just behind Australia, China's key supplier of coking coal.
China's coking coal import for December 2018 fell 48.89% compared with the previous year to 3.13 million mt.
The large decline was likely due to the sudden import halt imposed by the Chinese authorities on November 14.
The import halt meant that imported coals would no longer be able to clear customs until the end of 2018.
