Coal Mirror Монгол

Year by year

Annual coal and lignite exports from Mongolia to China, recorded by Mongolia, against imports from Mongolia, recorded by China.

What each side recorded

Million tonnes per year

Sources: UN Comtrade: Mongolia-reported exports (retrieved 2026-10-16) ; UN Comtrade: China-reported imports (retrieved 2026-10-16) ; NSO Mongolia: exports by main commodity, annual (retrieved 2026-10-16) ; China customs (GACC) releases, entered by hand (retrieved 2026-10-16)

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The gap: China minus Mongolia

Positive bars mean China recorded more coal than Mongolia

Sources: UN Comtrade: Mongolia-reported exports (retrieved 2026-10-16) ; UN Comtrade: China-reported imports (retrieved 2026-10-16) ; NSO Mongolia: exports by main commodity, annual (retrieved 2026-10-16) ; China customs (GACC) releases, entered by hand (retrieved 2026-10-16)

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Totals over periods

Period Comparable years only: Gap Gap % Years compared Including approximate years: Gap Sum ignoring direction Years compared Years left out
2008–2022 +2.01 Mt +0.87% 60% +1.45 Mt 10.9 Mt 93.3% 2016
2013–2022 +2.01 Mt +0.87% 90% +2.01 Mt 7.6 Mt 90% 2016
2018–2022 +1.43 Mt +0.97% 100% +1.43 Mt 4.9 Mt 100% —
2023–2025 — — 0% −403 kt 1.8 Mt 100% —

All years
2025 89,600,049 88,964,153 -635,896 −0.7% 64 62 Approximate Mongolia's figure is its total coal exports to all countries, multiplied by China's share of those exports
2024 83,366,147 82,910,681 -455,466 −0.6% 104 101 Approximate Mongolia's figure is its total coal exports to all countries, multiplied by China's share of those exports
2023 69,285,449 69,973,900 688,451 +1.0% 128 — Approximate China's figure was entered by hand from a news report citing China customs
2022 29,889,223 31,143,168 1,253,945 +4.2% 202 162 Comparable China's import price per tonne is lower than Mongolia's export price
2021 18,157,420 16,443,336 -1,714,085 −9.4% 136 122 Comparable China's import price per tonne is lower than Mongolia's export price · Mongolia's two official figures disagree by more than 8% this year: its UN Comtrade submission and its statistics office total
2020 27,299,881 28,546,861 1,246,980 +4.6% 74 70 Comparable
2019 35,934,860 36,206,382 271,522 +0.8% 84 85 Comparable
2018 35,867,165 36,241,900 374,735 +1.0% 77 78 Comparable
2017 32,700,134 33,987,722 1,287,588 +3.9% 67 65 Comparable
2016 25,414,032 12,204,936 (UN Comtrade estimate, not used) — — 37 — One side only China's weight for this period is an estimate made by UN Comtrade, not a figure reported by China, and it is far too low
2015 14,012,018 14,388,526 376,508 +2.7% 38 37 Comparable
2014 19,478,996 19,269,102 -209,894 −1.1% 44 49 Comparable
2013 18,372,505 17,494,669 -877,836 −4.8% 61 68 Comparable
2012 20,789,302 22,132,938 1,343,637 +6.5% 91 77 Approximate China's import price per tonne is lower than Mongolia's export price · Mongolia's figure is its total coal exports to all countries, multiplied by China's share of those exports
2011 21,167,576 20,291,584 -875,992 −4.1% 107 79 Approximate China's import price per tonne is lower than Mongolia's export price · Mongolia's figure is its total coal exports to all countries, multiplied by China's share of those exports
2010 16,625,303 16,663,220 37,917 +0.2% 53 61 Approximate Mongolia's figure is its total coal exports to all countries, multiplied by China's share of those exports
2009 7,070,291 6,016,537 -1,053,754 −14.9% 43 53 Approximate Mongolia's figure is its total coal exports to all countries, multiplied by China's share of those exports
2008 4,144,150 4,128,585 -15,565 −0.4% 44 59 Approximate Mongolia's figure is its total coal exports to all countries, multiplied by China's share of those exports
2007 3,248,326 3,269,489 21,162 +0.7% 36 31 Comparable China's import price per tonne is lower than Mongolia's export price
2006 2,354,870 2,352,233 -2,637 −0.1% 19 18 Comparable China's import price per tonne is lower than Mongolia's export price
2005 2,217,628 2,538,558 320,930 +14.5% 12 12 Comparable