China's Coal Output Increases 28.1% in First-Quarter 2010

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--China's coal production continued to see swift growth in the first quarter of 2010, and the accumulative coal output reached 751 million metric tons, an increase of 165 million metric tons, or 28.1% year-over-year, according to the First Quarter Economic Operation Report on Coal Industry recently issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

In the first quarter, China's coal resources increased 796 million metric tons, an increase of 32.6% year-over-year. The average coal output per month surpassed 200 million metric tons, and the monthly output jumped to 280 million metric tons in March, an increase of 23.8% year-over-year.

In the first quarter, China's coal import maintained a scale of more than 10 million metric tons per month on average, while coal export stayed at low level. In March 2010, the import of coal reached 15.22 million metric tons, an increase of 165.3% year-over-year. The accumulative import of coal in the first quarter jumped to 44.41 million metric tons, a jump of 226.4% year-over-year; and the accumulative import price rose to $93.4 per metric ton, an increase of 11.6%.

China's coal export has stayed at less than 2.5 million metric tons per month since February 2009. In March 2010, the export of coal dropped to 2.26 million metric tons, a drop of 0.3% year-over-year. The accumulative export of coal in the first quarter was down to 5.7 million metric tons, a drop of 22.7% year-over-year; and the accumulative export price was down to $85.5 per metric ton from $128.1 per metric ton last year, a drop of 33.3%.

According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China's industry has maintained steady growth, and the total value added of industrial enterprises with annual sales income of more than RMB 5 million yuan (US$732,000) rose 33.1% year-over-year in March, and the accumulative growth in the first quarter was up 36.1%. The output of all coal-intensive downstream industries such as power, iron and steel, cement, and chemical fertilizer had maintained the tendency of swift growth, and the growth rate was all over 10%. Swift development in coal-intensive downstream industries supported the booming consumption, said MIIT in its announcement.

As of April 7, 2010, coal stockpiles in China's key power plants reached 42.73 million metric tons, which is equivalent to the consumption of about 12 days. Based on the statistic of Qinghuangdao Port, the sum of coal stockpiled in the port reached 7.845 million metric tons.

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