BEIJING, Sept. 22 -- China's coal miners will continue to feel the pinch from flagging demand, excessive capacity and relatively large coal imports this year, an insider said on Tuesday.

The sector faces starker challenges than a year ago, Peng Jianxun, deputy head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety and the China National Coal Association, said at an energy forum.

With China's economic slowdown and push to save energy and cut emissions, the coal mining sector has been on the decline since the latter half of 2012.

In the first eight months, China's coal imports dropped 31.3 percent to 138.6 million tonnes, but that was still a very high level given weak demand and overcapacity at home, Peng said.

The sector has been suffering from high inventory levels and dropping prices since the beginning of this year.

Peng said the sector had to steer the focus from quantity and growth speed to quality and efficiency and continue to eliminate outdated capacity.

Coal is the most important energy resource in China. In 2014, however, the share of coal in total primary energy consumption dropped to 64.2 percent from 66 percent a year earlier.

The country is aiming to bring the share of coal in total energy consumption down to below 62 percent by 2020 and to raise the share of clean non-fossil fuel.