Mongolia's coal shipments to China surge 61% in April, overtaking Indonesia

China's coal imports from Mongolia surged 61% in April, propelling it ahead of Indonesia, which is traditionally the world's largest coal exporter and has long been China's top supplier of the fuel.

Mongolia shipped 11.33-million metric tons of coal across the border to its neighbour China, narrowly edging out Indonesia which sold 11.12-million tons, down 22% on the year, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs on Wednesday.

Over the first four months of the year, Indonesian shipments were down 8% but retained their lead over Mongolia at 61.43-million tons to 39.37-million tons, even as Mongolian shipments rose 61% from the year-earlier period.

"Higher domestic output and lower local coal prices have reduced the competitiveness of imported low-CV Indonesian cargoes in the Chinese coastal market," maritime analytics platform Signal Ocean said in a note.

More volatility for Indonesian coal shipments could be in store, after the major commodities exporter on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping plan to centralise exports of coal as well as other key commodities including palm oil under a State-owned firm. Investors were rattled by the plan, which President Prabowo Subianto said aimed to assert greater control over pricing.

China's imports from Russia and Australia, the number three and four suppliers, fell 30% and 39% respectively in April.

The declines came as China cut its overall coal imports. China's imports fell 14% year-on-year in April to 33.1 million metric tons, with year-to-date imports down 2.1% on the year at 149.4 metric tons. 

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