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BEIJING, May 23 (Reuters) - China's imports of coal from its neighbour North Korea reached 1.53 million tonnes in April, down 35 percent on the month and 20.5 percent year-on-year as Beijing sought to comply with a tougher sanctions regime against the country.
North Korean shipments over the first four months of the year remain 23.2 percent higher than the same period of 2015, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.
China's Ministry of Commerce announced at the beginning of April that it would ban North Korean coal imports to comply with new United Nations sanctions on the country, though it made exceptions for deliveries intended for "the people's wellbeing" as well as coal originating from third countries like Mongolia. was the chief beneficiary of the decline in shipments from North Korea, with the country supplying 1.98 million tonnes to China in April, up 34.7 percent on the year.
Australia remained China's biggest supplier, though the April volume of 5.74 million tonnes was down 12.9 percent compared to last year.