Jul. 24, 2012 (China Knowledge) - China saw its coal imports surge 64.76% YoY to 22.52 million metric tons in June this year, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs yesterday.

Last month, China's coal exports reached 471,165 metric tons. The country's net coal imports were 22.05 million metric tons in June.

In the first half of this year, China imported 112 million metric tons of coal, 60.97% more than in the same period of last year.

China's coal output climbed 5.6% YoY to 1.91 billion metric tons in the first half, according to data from the China National Coal Association. The country saw slower growth of 2.8% in coal consumption in the period, which stood at 1.97 billion metric tons.

Coal consumption by the electricity industry rose 2.7% YoY to 990 million metric tons in H1 and that by the steel sector grew 2% to 300 million metric tons. The building material industry consumed 250 million metric tons of coal in H1, 4.2% more than in the same period of 2011.