According to NK News, North Korean coal imports from China increased 100-fold between July and August, according to newly released Chinese customs data. The new numbers put the amount of coal shipped from China at nearly 45,000 t, up from just 450 t in July. At current prices, the August deliveries will have upped the DPRK’s monthly coal bill to more than $5 million. The increase marks the highest levels of coal imports and largest percentage increase since 2011, though no data is available prior to that year. The August total is also far above recent yearly averages, which have been steadily decreasing from 17,000 t since 2011.

“Chinese customs statistics are occasionally unreliable however,” NK News comments, “and the possibility exists that part of the figure could have been carried over from July. If this were the case, the August and July totals would still be twice as much as the next highest 2014 value.”

The jump in coal exports was so marked that the figure skewed the data for all energy products being delivered to the DPRK last month.

North Korean imports of gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil and diesel all decreased in August, however the overall figure for energy products exported from China nearly doubled.

The type of coal being exported is widely used around the world in industry and power generation.