China supplies coking coal to Indonesia, breaking old market patterns

May 2025 China shipped at least three shipments of coking coal to processors in Sulawesi, Indonesia, a move into a market normally dominated by local Australian and Indonesian supplies.China has exported coking coal to Indonesia only three times since the beginning of 2024, monthly Chinese customs data show; in April 2025, China exported 78,030 metric tons of coking coal to Indonesia, the first shipment since July 2024, and May data are not yet available. China is the world's largest importer of coking coal and is not a major exporter of the steelmaking fuel. Independent consultants said the move was aimed at testing the economic viability of Chinese supply and showing traditional sellers such as Australia that Indonesian mills have other options. The trade is unlikely to become mainstream due to higher costs and stiff competition from Russia and Mongolia. In the longer term, as China's steel industry slows, it could free up coking coal supplies to become a regular export, an executive at a Chinese trading company said last week. Sulawesi's coke-processing plants have become supply centers for metallurgical coke, the raw material used by steelmakers, which has increased demand for coking coal used to make coke. The region is currently facing overcapacity, with a utilization rate of only 601 TP3T to 701 TP3T, a source said.Indonesia's metallurgical coke exports are also affected by import restrictions imposed by India, a major buyer, in December 2024.The source also said that the region is facing overcapacity, with a utilization rate of only 601 TP3T to 701 TP3T.