Key facts
- Indonesian exporters want waiver clauses in new contracts with Chinese buyers, sources told Bloomberg.
- The clauses would excuse exporters from contracted volumes if Indonesia cuts quotas or delays export approvals.
- China's coal imports fell 6% year-on-year in September and again in October, per the report.
- Fitch Ratings said Asian thermal coal prices are expected to stay elevated in the coming months.
China's coal importers are resisting attempts by Indonesian exporters to write waiver clauses into new supply contracts, sources familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg in a report published November 10, 2026. The clauses would free exporters from contracted delivery volumes if the Indonesian government restricts export or output quotas again or delays export approvals.
Indonesia, the world's biggest exporter of thermal coal, has changed its production and export policies several times in 2026, curbing international shipments and forcing China, the world's top coal consumer, to adjust import flows and domestic production. The government cut miners' production quotas, and strong El Niño conditions reduced rainfall and lowered river levels, disrupting barge movements to export ports in recent weeks.
China's coal imports fell 6% from a year earlier in September 2026 as inventories stayed high, supply from Indonesia remained restricted and import prices rose. The decline extended into October, when imports also dropped 6% year-on-year. Jenny Huang, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, told Reuters that Chinese buyers appear reluctant to restock aggressively at elevated prices given comfortable inventories and expectations of improving domestic supply. Fitch said in a report last month that Asian thermal coal prices are expected to stay elevated in the coming months as demand strengthens in the gas-to-coal switch while supply from China and Indonesia falls.