China's coal imports fell 33.8% year-on-year (YoY) to 121.1 million tonnes in the first seven months of 2015, with its import value down 47% YoY to US$7.7bn.

Coal imports dropped 8.8% YoY in July to 21.3 million tonnes, but jumped 28.1% compared with June, according to Chinese Customs' statistics.

The value of imported coal also dropped 24.6% YoY in July to US$1.3bn, but the number rose 24.7% YoY compared with June, with the average coal price down US$1.6 per tonne in July to US$61.2 per tonne.

More than 90% of China's coal imports are seaborne, according to the China National Coal Association. The association estimated that China's overall coal imports for 2015 would amount to around 200 million tonnes, as the year-on-year decline in coal imports would shrink in the upcoming months of 2015.

In 2014, Chinese coal imports dropped 10.9% YoY to about 290 million tonnes due to competition from cheaper domestic coal and government restrictions on coal imports.