China’s coal import market has undergone dramatic changes over the past five years. While the total volume of coal imported into China continues to climb, an increasingly apparent change is being seen in the makeup of market players.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Persistently falling prices since this year have further accelerated the reshuffle of market players; state-owned firms, especially end users, trumped these southern China-based private importers in top ranks.<br /> <br /> Customs data showed that state-owned firms occupied seven of the top ten coal importers in the first half this year. The top three -- Datang Group, Huaneng Group and Guangdong Yudean Group – were all operators of thermal plants.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, most of the major private importers from southern China dropped out of the top 20 list, with only two remaining. This is in stark contrast to the rankings in 2012 when 40% of the top 20 importers were privately-owned firms from the south.<br /> <br /> Private importers such as Yatai Co. in Chaozhou, Dayou Co. in Guangzhou and Qinfa Group in Zhuhai used to dominate the import coal market.<br /> <br /> Falling domestic coal prices since 2012 were to blame for the downgrade of the private firms. While importers sought to increase import volume, their profit margins were shrinking rapidly, with many even suffered losses.<br /> <br /> On August 4, the Fenwei/Platts CCI1 Index for domestic 5,500 Kcal/kg NAR coal traded at Qinhuangdao port stood at 469.00 yuan/t, inclusive of VAT, FOB basis, down 14.6% year on year.<br /> <br /> The Fenwei/Platts CCI8 index, the benchmark spot price for imported Australian 5,500 Kcal/kg coals, was assessed at $65.20 CFR Guangzhou port, excluding VAT on August 4, down 15.3% from the year-ago level.<br /> <br /> During the first half of the year, the country imported a total of 159.87 million tonnes of coal, up 0.9% year on year, while the total value was $12.67 billion, down 12.7% year on year.<br /> <br /> <p> As a result, less well-capitalized private firms were forced out of the market, while financially strong state-owned firms progressively dominate the import arena.&nbsp; </p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <img src="/upfiles/news/image/20140811/20140811093817_3137.jpg" alt="" /> </p>