China will allow all domestic companies to import Australian coal, signalling an end to trade restrictions imposed in late 2020.

Ports and customs offices have been told to allow the cargoes, according to people familiar with the decision, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Earlier this year, authorities gave four major importers permission to resume purchases of Australian coal, which began shipping in January.

The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planning agency, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

High-quality Australian coal is much sought after by China’s steelmakers and power plants. Imports could reach one-million tons in the first half of March alone, according to China’s top coal lobbying group. China is the world’s biggest producer and consumer and its imports of the fuel exceeded 290-million tons last year.

MAJOR CONSUMER
Australian coal mining stocks, including Yancoal Australia and New Hope, narrowed losses after the news. Chinese coking coal futures extended declines.

China had been a major consumer of Australian coal before implementing its unofficial ban as political hostilities escalated between the two countries. Australian leaders have said ending the ban would be a key step in restoring ties between the nations.

The thaw in relations between the two countries comes as a welcome development for Australian exporters of other commodities hit by a raft of restrictions, including lobster, beef, barley and wine.

Australian lobster exporters aren’t seeing the same obstacles from Chinese authorities that were previously in place, Australia’s Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said at a conference in Canberra last week. And there are early signs that impediments to beef and dairy shippers are also beginning to ease, he said.