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China Increases Coal Exports
China exported nearly 48 million tons of coal in the first 10 months this year, representing an increase of over 57 percent over the same period last year.
The China Coal Import and Export (Group) Corporation alone exported 32.3 million tons of coal, 8.1 million tons more than the same 1999 period.
The corporation is entitled to handle the export business of 44 State-owned coal enterprises in 14 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Its coal exports have increased by big margins
since June this year, hitting a historical record of 4.2 million tons in September.
A senior official from the State Administration of the Coal Industry said the coal sector has exhibited a favorable growth trend and the excess supply of coal in some parts of the country has been diminished. Moreover, coal prices rose moderately.
The official expects the country's coal exports to top 38 million tons by the end of this year.
The State Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation and the State Development Planning Commission have made active efforts to optimize market operations and regulate prices in a move to create sound conditions for coal exports, joining hands with the departments of communications, railways and customs.
The hike in oil prices on the international market and marine transport fees are conducive to the export of China's coal to the southeast Asian market, authorities noted.
In the meantime, State-owned key coal enterprises have sharpened their competitive edge in the market by better catering to the market economy, with the accelerated pace of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), they said.
China is the world's largest coal producer, turning out 1.2 billion tons annually, or one-third of the world's total.
However, China exports only just over 30 million tons of coal annually, accounting for merely six percent of the world's total coal trade.
The expansion of coal exports will be of great significance for the sustainable development of the country's coal industry, as it can effectively reduce the coal stockpile and create a balance between coal supply and demand, said analysts.
The increase of coal exports will open the country's coal sector to the rest of the world, help draw more foreign investment and optimize the structure of China's coal industry.
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