Falling demand: Workers sort coal on a conveyer belt near a coal mine in Datong, in China’s northern Shanxi province. China’s National Coal Association expects demand to decline in the second quarter on the year, after a fall of 6.8% in the first quarter as the virus shut industrial plants. — AFP
BEIJING:China is expected to tighten coal import rules in the second half of 2020 to shore up its struggling domestic industry, after record arrivals in the first four months, just as demand tanked because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Imports could drop as much as a quarter in the second half from the corresponding 2019 period, analysts estimate, which is likely to boost pressure on major coal exporters, such as Australia, Indonesia and Russia, which are already battling weak demand because of the virus.
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