BEIJING, April 13. /TASS/. China’s natural gas imports decreased by 3.6% in January-March 2023 year-on-year to 26.74 mln tons, while oil imports rose by 6.7% to 136.36 mln tons, the General Administration of Customs of China reported on Thursday.

In value terms, gas imports lost 3.1% in the reporting period to $16.81 bln, while crude supplies from other countries went down by 4.2% to $80.11 bln, according to figures released by the customs service.

In March, China’s gas and oil imports added 2.3% and 28.3% month-on-month, respectively, to 8.86 mln and 52.3 mln tons. In value terms, gas supplies fell by 12.5% to $4.88 bln, while oil deliveries grew by 27.8% to $30.42 bln.

In 2022, China’s oil and gas imports rose by 41.4% to $365.51 bln and by 25.7% to $70.01 bln, respectively, in value terms, while in physical terms supplies fell by 0.9% to 508.27 mln tons and by 9.9% to 109.24 mln tons, respectively.