Islamabad, Apr 3, 2025: In the first quarter of 2025, the world’s biggest thermal coal importers reduced their purchases, leading to the lowest quarterly coal imports in three years, according to ship tracking data from Kpler.
Global coal imports during this period totaled just over 240 million metric tons, marking a decline of approximately 10 million tons compared to the same period in 2024.
The top coal importers – China, India, Japan, and South Korea – all cut their first-quarter imports by over 10% from 2024, as an increase in clean energy generation allowed power utilities to decrease coal consumption.
As the production of clean energy continues to rise, further reductions in coal imports could follow in these major markets in the coming months.
This could lead to the first drop in collective thermal coal imports since 2020.
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However, the growing economies in other regions have increased their coal imports, partially balancing out the declines in the largest markets and preventing a more significant drop in global coal.
In 2024, the four largest coal importers accounted for 69% of total coal, and these countries have been the most aggressive in cutting in 2025.
China, as the world’s largest coal consumer, led the reductions, with first-quarter imports falling to 67 million tons from nearly 85 million tons in the same period of 2024.
This marks the lowest quarterly import total for China since Q3 of 2022. Reduced industrial activity and record domestic coal production have diminished China’s need for imported coal.
India imported just under 39 million tons in the first quarter, a drop of 5.6 million tons compared to last year.
While the major importers have cut back on imports, other countries have expanded their coal purchase volumes.
In fact, the portion of coal coming from nations outside of China, India, Japan, and South Korea reached its highest level in three years during the first quarter of 2025.
Turkey, Vietnam, and Bangladesh set new first-quarter records for coal, while the Philippines and Malaysia also recorded their second-largest import totals for the period.
Other countries such as Thailand, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Morocco, and the Netherlands, which is the key seaport for continental Europe, also saw strong first-quarter coal import numbers.
Though these gains in secondary markets are notable, they remain smaller compared to the nearly 18-million-ton drop in imports from China.
