China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Guangxi is approaching 80 percent of its annual coal import quota. About 6 million-7 million mt of quota left for the region for the rest of 2020.
Sources said the import quota was aimed at fighting lackluster demand for Chinese domestic coal as well as supporting China's mining industry.
Unchanged from last year, the import quota for Guangxi was around 24 million mt for 2020. Market sources said the remaining quota was shared between coking and thermal coal for local end-users.
Over the rest of the year, the remaining quota will be distributed evenly on a quarterly basis. To maintain normal operations in the region, the quarterly quota will be distributed to various local end-users on a priority basis.
Data from the country's General Administration of Customs showed China's thermal coal imports from January to March were up 28 percent year on year. Amid poor coal demand in China, market sources said price competition for mid to high-CV coal between seaborne and domestic coal is expected to continue.
