Jan. 26 – While China has long been the world’s top producer and overall consumer of coal, the country also became the largest importer of the resource last year, overtaking a position held by Japan since at least 1975.

Customs data compiled by the International Energy Agency show that strong domestic demand boosted China’s coal imports by 10.8 percent in 2011 to 182.4 million tons. Japan’s imports of the fossil fuel dropped by 5.1 percent to 175.2 million tons over the same period due, at least in part, to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country’s northeast coast last March.

However, a Reuters poll conducted last month showed that China’s coal imports are expected to slow during 2012 as domestic production rises and overall consumption of the fossil fuel begins to plateau, leaving it unclear whether or not China will retain its position in 2012.

Hirofumi Furukawa, expert at the Japan Coal Energy Center, told Industrial Fuel and Power that China was likely to keep its top position in 2012.

“China’s domestic production will be managed by the government. The costs are rising and when it comes to competition, foreign coal is cheaper, so there will be pressure for imports,” Furukawa said. “Some say it will rise to 200 million tons (in 2012). Japan, on the other hand, is expected to see steady imports (in 2012).”

The Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ) projected last month that the March 2011 earthquake would drop Japanese utilities’ consumption of thermal coal (used in power generation) by 0.2 percent for the fiscal year ending March 31.

Japan’s thermal coal consumption next year largely depends on the country’s use of nuclear power – a hotly contested area of debate after last year’s Fukushima plant disaster. If nuclear reactors do not resume operations, thermal coal demand could jump by 8.3 percent in the 2012/2013 fiscal, according to the IEEJ.

Related Reading

China Raises Electricity Prices, Caps Coal Costs

China Kicks Off National Resource Tax Reform