Exclusive: Chinese port of Dalian bans Australian imports of coal and sets 2019 quota – source

BEIJING (Reuters) – Customs officials in China's northern port of Dalian have banned imports of Australian coal and will limit total coal imports for 2019 to 12 million tonnes, a group official told Reuters on Thursday. from Dalian Port.

The unlimited ban on imports from Australia's main supplier, which has been in effect since the beginning of February, comes as major ports in other parts of China extend Australian coal offsets to at least 40 days. days.

Coal is Australia's main source of exports and the Australian dollar has fallen more than 1% to USD 0.7086 = D3.

Five ports monitored by Dalian Customs – Dalian, Bayuquan, Panjin, Dandong and Beiliang – will not allow Australian coal to clear customs, the official said. Coal imports from Russia and Indonesia will not be affected.

The ports handled about 14 million tonnes of coal last year, half of which came from Australia, said Gu Meng, an analyst at Orient Futures.

The head of Dalian refused to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. Neither Dalian Customs nor the General Administration of Customs immediately responded to a request for comment.

The source said that he had received no reason for Australia 's ban on imports.

However, it comes amidst tensions between Beijing and Canberra over issues such as cybersecurity and China's influence in the Pacific island countries. Australia has recently revoked the visa of a prominent Chinese businessman to tighten ties.

Beijing has also tried to restrict coal imports more generally in order to support domestic prices.

Australian coking coal in China's northern Jingtang port costs 200 yuan (29.85 US dollars) less per ton than domestic prices, according to data collected by Orient Futures. Thermal coal prices are approximately the same.

Dalian manages both imports of thermal coal and coking coal, but the crackdown is expected to have a greater impact on coking coal, used in the manufacture of steel, than thermal coal, used to produce electricity.

"It is difficult to find an Australian coking coal substitute because its sulfur content is very low," said a purchasing officer at a large coke plant in Hebei Province.

"Current stocks in ports should be sufficient to support use for one or two months, but this could be a problem in the long run, especially if other ports also reduce imports," he said. added.

He refused to be named because of the company's policy.

The most active coking coal contract for the May delivery, DJMcv1, increased by more than 2% during the Thursday morning session.

"(The restriction) will further reduce steel plant profit margins after the Vale accident has already driven up iron ore prices," Gu told Orient Futures.

China bought 28.26 million tons of coking coal from Australia in 2018, accounting for 43.5 percent of total imports, according to customs statistics.