CUSTOMS IMPORT BRIEF
Coconut-shell charcoal import analysis
From January to August 2026, China imported 159,740 tonnes of fruit-stone or nut-shell charcoal (HS 44022000), worth RMB 933 million. The Philippines alone supplied 70% of volume. Southeast Asia and West Africa trade at two distinct price bands.
Source: monthly customs extract · HS 44022000 fruit-stone or nut-shell charcoal, whether or not agglomerated · Jan–Aug 2026. Quantity uses the second unit (tonnes).
159,740 t
Total volume
RMB 933 m
Total value
RMB 5,842 / t
Weighted average price
15
Origin countries
+46.3%
Aug volume vs Jul
+55.7%
Aug value vs Jul
+6.4%
Aug price vs Jul
Monthly trend
Volume rose from 11,600 t in January to 25,100 t in April, held in May, fell 27% in June, then rebounded to a period high of 27,000 t in August. The weighted average peaked at RMB 6,396 / t in April and bottomed at RMB 5,207 / t in July. August volume recovered with a price of RMB 5,542 / t, still below April.
Monthly volume of the three largest origins
- Philippines
- Nigeria
- Indonesia
Y-axis: volume in tonnes. X-axis: customs year-month. Point labels are the second quantity for that month. Nigeria and Indonesia differ by about 11 t in January, so the labels sit close together.
| Month | Volume (10k t) | Vol. MoM | Value (RMB 100m) | Val. MoM | Avg. (RMB / t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.16 | — | 0.65 | — | 5,641 |
| Feb | 1.45 | +25.3% | 0.87 | +33.0% | 5,990 |
| Mar | 1.99 | +37.5% | 1.22 | +40.2% | 6,104 |
| Apr | 2.51 | +25.8% | 1.60 | +31.8% | 6,396 |
| May | 2.50 | -0.3% | 1.53 | -4.5% | 6,127 |
| Jun | 1.82 | -27.2% | 1.00 | -34.6% | 5,501 |
| Jul | 1.85 | +1.5% | 0.96 | -3.9% | 5,207 |
| Aug | 2.70 | +46.3% | 1.50 | +55.7% | 5,542 |
Month-on-month vs the prior month. 10k-tonne and RMB 100m figures are rounded to two decimals.
Origin mix
The Philippines supplied 70.2% of volume and 74.7% of value; Indonesia 15.6% of volume and 16.0% of value. Together they are 85.8% of volume. Nigeria is the third origin by volume (6.1%) but only 2.1% of value.
| Origin | Volume (t) | Vol. share | Value (RMB 10k) | Val. share | Avg. (RMB / t) | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 112,074.3 | 70.2% | 69,704.7 | 74.7% | 6,220 | 8 |
| Indonesia | 24,950.3 | 15.6% | 14,941.9 | 16.0% | 5,989 | 8 |
| Nigeria | 9,742.1 | 6.1% | 1,952.8 | 2.1% | 2,004 | 8 |
| Vietnam | 4,901.5 | 3.1% | 2,591.5 | 2.8% | 5,287 | 7 |
| Thailand | 4,438.9 | 2.8% | 2,473.1 | 2.7% | 5,571 | 8 |
| Malaysia | 1,002.7 | 0.6% | 550.9 | 0.6% | 5,494 | 7 |
| Sri Lanka | 872.5 | 0.5% | 621.4 | 0.7% | 7,122 | 6 |
| Ghana | 714.6 | 0.4% | 172.4 | 0.2% | 2,413 | 4 |
| Benin | 587.6 | 0.4% | 119.9 | 0.1% | 2,040 | 5 |
| Tanzania | 280.0 | 0.2% | 102.1 | 0.1% | 3,647 | 3 |
| Myanmar | 119.1 | 0.1% | 40.9 | 0.0% | 3,431 | 4 |
| Kenya | 56.0 | 0.0% | 50.2 | 0.1% | 8,967 | 1 |
| Germany | 0.34 | 0.0% | 0.4 | 0.0% | 10,929 | 1 |
| Zimbabwe | 0.052 | 0.0% | 0.1 | 0.0% | 27,846 | 1 |
| Burkina Faso | 0.006 | 0.0% | 0.04 | 0.0% | 71,667 | 1 |
Two price bands
Origins with ongoing shipments split into two bands. Southeast Asia is about RMB 5,300–7,100 / t; West Africa about RMB 2,000–2,400 / t. Sri Lanka has the highest average (RMB 7,122 / t) on only 873 t. Nigeria averages RMB 2,004 / t, about one-third of the Philippine price.
| Region | Volume | Vol. share | Weighted avg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Asia | 148,400 t | 92.9% | RMB 6,129 / t |
| West Africa | 11,000 t | 6.9% | RMB 2,033 / t |
| East Africa | 336 t | 0.2% | RMB 4,538 / t |
Southeast Asia: Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar. West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, Benin. East Africa: Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe. Germany and Burkina Faso total 0.35 t and are omitted from the table.
Germany (0.34 t), Zimbabwe (0.052 t) and Burkina Faso (0.006 t) are single-month traces; their unit prices are not market quotes. Kenya is one April lot of 56 t.
Takeaways
Supply is concentrated. The Philippines and Indonesia together are 85.8% of eight-month volume; the Philippines alone is 70%. August’s rebound still came from those two origins: 18,900 t from the Philippines and 5,900 t from Indonesia.
Volume and price moved apart. Volume peaked in April and August; price peaked in April and then fell for three months. August set a volume high while the average rose only 6.4% from July and stayed about RMB 850 / t below April.
Cheap West African cargo pulled the sample average down without changing the value mix. West Africa shipped 11,000 t at RMB 2,033 / t (6.9% of volume, about 2.4% of value). Southeast Asia shipped 148,400 t at RMB 6,129 / t and accounts for more than nine-tenths of volume and almost all of the value.