“There are early signs that the informal ban on Australian coal imports to China may be in the process of being removed,” Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure,the ASX-listed owner of Queensland’s busiest metallurgical coal port,said on Monday.
A deterioration of diplomatic ties between Australia and its biggest trading partner in 2020 led to China slapping hefty tariffs on a range of Australian goods,includingwine and barley,while an outright ban on Australian coal left dozens of vessels stranded off the coast unable to dock.
It ultimately forced a realignment of global trade flows,leading to Australian coal producers sending more cargo into other markets.
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Dalrymple Bay’s Hay Point port on the central Queensland coast shipped 53.3 million tonnes of coal in 2022,of which three-quarters were sent to Japan,South Korea,Europe and India.
However,the company told investors on Monday that “China-destined vessels” had been arriving at the port throughout February.
Several coal producers in the NSW Hunter Valley and Queensland have confirmed Chinese buyers have asked about supplies of thermal coal,which is used in power generation,and metallurgical coal for the steelmaking industry during the past two months.