China coal shortage to continue

China, the world’s largest coal consuming nation, used more coal than it produced in 2007 and will stay short through at least 2010, a coal industry official said on Tuesday.

China’s demand for coal is expected to rise to 2.76 billion tonnes in 2008, from 2.62 billion tonnes in 2007, said Wu Chenghou, executive director of the Coal Sale and Transportation Association of China
Wu estimated China produced 2.58 billion tonnes of coal in 2007, slightly above an estimate of 2.52 billion tonnes issued by the State Administration of Work Safety.

He did not comment on whether the country had drawn down coal stocks in 2007 to remain a net exporter, despite producing less than it consumed. China has not yet issued official output data for 2007, and often revises that figure several times.

Customs data released Tuesday showed the country’s net exports of coal fell sharply to 2 million tonnes in 2007, compared with net exports of 25.1 million tonnes in 2006 .

By 2010, China’s coal consumption will reach 3.06 billion in 2010, up 10 per cent compared with last year, more than will be satisfied by domestic production of between 2.9 billion and 3 billion tonnes, Wu told reporters at an industry conference.

The Age