China's coal imports hit 12.5 mln tons in Sep

Oct. 26, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China's coal imports hit a record 12.5 million tons in September, more than triple the imports in the same period of last year, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs.

China imported 31,149 tons of coke in September, much more than last September. Coke imports amounted to 128,081 tons in the first nine months.

China saw coal imports skyrocket 167% year on year to 85.7 million tons in the first three quarters of this year due to increasing demand. 

Meanwhile, China exported 2.02 million tons of coal in September, which means China's net imports exceeded 10 million tons during the period.

The September coal exports reflected a 2.9% year-on-year decrease from 2.8 million tons in September 2008.

Reportedly, China's coal exports saw a substantial monthly decrease of more than 50% on average in the first eight months of this year.