China’s imports of coal from Australia and Indonesia, its top two suppliers, fell sharply in the first quarter from a year earlier, customs data showed on Wednesday, reflecting subdued demand and quality checks that have deterred trade.

Coal imports from Australia, excluding lignite, fell 27 percent to 15.96 million tonnes in the first quarter from a year before, the General Administration of Customs data showed. Shipments in March slid 15.9 percent on the year to 5.35 million tonnes.

Lukewarm demand in China, the world’s top consumer, has slashed prices SH-QHA-TRMCOAL by 15.2 percent this year, leading about 80 percent of domestic miners to make losses and prompting suppliers to look to alternative markets, analysts said.

China has also moved to limit imports of coal with high levels of impurities in order to prop up domestic mines and cut pollution.

Although few cargoes have been turned away, the psychological impact of the inspections has been huge, David Heap, marketing director of PT Harum Energy, an Indonesian coal producer, told an industry conference last week.

“Traders are scared of being caught with large cargoes,” Heap said.

Two cargoes have been rejected so far due to the restrictions on low-quality imports, one from North Korea and one from Kazakhstan, traders said.

Imports from Indonesia, excluding lignite, slumped 56 percent to 7.55 million tonnes in the first three months from a year earlier. March imports declined 48 percent to 2.65 million tonnes.

Total coal imports, including lignite, fell 42 percent to 49.07 million tonnes in the first three months from a year earlier.

The drop in Chinese coal imports slashed first-quarter earnings for Canadian miner Teck Resources, forcing the world’s second-biggest exporter of steelmaking coal to cut its dividend for the first time since late 2008.