China’s coal imports

After a slow start in the first quarter, global coal trade has really picked up pace last year and is now fully back to pre Covid levels. In the full 12 months of 2022, total global seaborne coal loadings increased by+5.8% you to 1204.8 mlnt (excluding cabotage), from 1138.3 mlnt in the full 12 months of 2021,although still below the 1275.6 mlnt inJan-Dec2019. Mainland China is currently the world’s largest seaborne importer of coal (including both thermal and coking),accounting for26.2% of the global seaborne coal market so far in 2023.