China Knowledge quoted according to the latest statistics released by Harbin Customs that the coal imports in Northeast China Heilongjiang Province swelled 93.1%YoY to 213,000 tons in the first eight months of this year.

During the reporting period, import value surged 88.2% to USD 20.6 million, while average import price declined 2.6% to USD 96.9 per tonne. The monthly imports of coal reached 27,000 tons in this period. Imports in June hit a record of 72,000 tonnes.

The province imported 167,000 tons of coal through general trade in the period from January to August up 330% accounting for 78.4% of total coal imports of the province. Its coal imports through small-amount trade in the border areas slipped 35.5% to 46,000 tons.

Officials from the customs said that China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world and its demand for coal will continue to grow rapidly due to energy needs stimulated by economic growth. In addition, Russia and China recently signed cooperation agreement on coal supply.

The former will boost coal shipments to China to at least 15 million tonnes annually in the next five years and more than 20 million tonnes in the following 20 years.

(Sourced from China Knowledge)