China's Coal Imports Double in Mar

BEIJING, Apr. 23 -- China's General Administration of Customs said that the country imported 15.22 million tons of coal last month, more than double the amount it imported in March of last year, sources reported.

The March figure was higher than that of the previous month, when the country's coal imports hit 13.11 million tons.

In December last year, China's coal imports hit a record 16.38 million tons, China Knowledge reported earlier.

In March, China exported 2.26 million tons of coal. No coke was imported last month, according to customs.

China produced 279.8 million tons of raw coal in March, 23.8% more than last March, according to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics. The country's coal output in the first quarter of this year was 751.4 million tons, up 28.1% from the same period last year.