From the AFR:
China has been rejecting Australian coal cargos that don’t pass new import quality restrictions, and the local industry is concerned that the testing is being misused to favour China’s struggling coal industry.
Minerals Council of Australia coal boss Greg Evans has called for the regime to be suspended to give officials from both countries a chance to “assess the situation”.
…In January this year, China introduced new bans covering imports of coal with more than 16 per cent ash and 3 per cent …Australian coal is generally of higher quality than its main export competitors – Indonesia and South Africa – and most domestic Chinese producers.
…Some Indonesian shipments have been held back, and orders from China turned down, to avoid falling foul of the new guidelines on poorer-quality coal when it arrives in China.
Of greater concern is that there is a pretty good prospect of similar quality controls suddenly appearing around iron ore to protect local production.
