Taiwan imported 4.98 million mt of thermal coal in February, down 13% from January and 0.4% on the year, customs data showed Wednesday.
Australia remained the largest supplier of bituminous coal on 2.79 million mt, up 14% year on year, but this was a 12% fall from January, when imports of Australian coal hit a three-month high, S&P Global Platts calculations showed.
Russian coal posted the largest gains on the month, marking a six-month high of 726,429 mt, which was a 20% increase from January and a 67% rise on the year.
Also taking more market share was South Africa, where imports were at a three-month high of 164,994 mt, rising 16% over the month and marking the sixth consecutive month of imports from the country.
Although retaining its place as the second largest exporter of bituminous coal to Taiwan, volumes from Indonesia were 34% lower in year on year comparisons, also recording a 10% loss from January to reach 1.21 million mt.
No sub-bituminous coal imports were recorded for the month, an event that had not been seen since August 2016 according to Platts historical records.
