XIAMEN: China’s coal imports are expected to be little changed in 2024, despite an expected 4% increase in demand for the fuel, a senior executive from state-run utility Guangdong Energy Group said on Friday.

Shipments from Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of coal, will fall to 200 million metric tons this year, while imports of Australian coal will return to a normal level of 80 million tons, Wu Wenbin, Guangdong Energy’s head of coal management told the 2024 China Coal Import International Summit.

The world’s top coal user imported a record 222 million tons of coal from Indonesia in 2023, and 62 million tons from Australia, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.

Wenbin also said China is developing a 600 million ton coal reserve during its 14th five-year plan to balance supply and demand, and control price fluctuations.

China Jan-Feb coal imports rise 23% y/y to highest level for the period

Profits from coal mining and washing in China fell 25.3% year-over-year in 2023, Wenbin said, adding that nearly two-fifths of coal-fired power companies booked losses last year.

Still, there was “an overall improvement in the operating situation” of coal-fired utilities, with power tariffs increasing 20% in 2023, he said.