Stockpiling may be behind China's buying spree

However, while Chinese Government data suggests a huge upturn in imports of Australian iron ore, copper, zinc and aluminium in the last month, the move is also suspected as stockpiling while prices are low and ship chartering is cheap.

China imported a record of almost 400,000 tonnes of copper in April.

China's coal imports in the first quarter of 2009 revealed what has been seen as early signs of a fundamental shift in coal procurement.

As well as importing record amounts of iron ore, China has also imported record volumes of metallurgical coal, which hit 1.9m tonnes in March.

There are also signs of substantial tonnage of thermal coal, a Dahlman Rose research note said.

“While some of this can be attributed to domestic Chinese producers holding out for higher prices, we can’t dismiss the impact of safety initiatives and supply side challenges,” the note said.

In April, 30 panamax bulk carriers were booked to transport coal from Australia to China, implying 2.1m tonnes of imports, along with another eight panamaxes booked so far in May.

Four ships were booked to load coal from Indonesia, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter.

China was a net exporter of coal until 2008 although Dahlman Rose believes the country could become a significant importer.

Coupled with continued growth in Indian coal imports, this development “could be the foundation of a recovery in seaborne thermal coal pricing and shipments”, the report said.