Original article by John Kehoe, Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 25-Feb-19

It is now taking around 40 days for Australian coal to be cleared through five ports in northern China, up from around 25 days. The ports in question receive around eight per cent of the Australian coal exported to China, and less than two per cent of Australia’s total coal exports. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says protection of local coal miners and environmental checks seem to be the main reasons for the delays, while he has rejected any "conspiracy theories" regarding the possible reasons for the delays.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE