Coal imports have dropped by nearly a third this year, but the number of exports continues to grow, a U.A.E. report said Thursday.

Coal imports dropped by about 2 million tons in November from the year before.

That is the lowest level since February, the report said.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says it expects U.K. and U.L.A.-based coal imports to fall by 1 million tons by the end of the year.

It said the decline was the first of the past five years.