A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) stated lately that China is to accelerate the process of eliminating disqualified capacities in the domestic coking industry. The relevant central government departments are organizing local governments to calculate the total capacities which are to be eliminated. After a yearly schedule is drawn up, local government officials will be assigned to the various coke producers with detailed tasks and goals for the elimination of the disqualified capacities.
In addition, the MIIT will continue to enforce a strict approval system to avoid the creation of new disqualified capacities. According to official objectives, 50-60 million mt of disqualified small-scale coking capacities are to be eliminated within the last three years of China's "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" (2006-2010).
With regard to the proposal to lower export tariffs against the backdrop of the sharp decline in coke exports, the MIIT official stated out that total Chinese output of coke should be controlled as far as possible and used mainly for local sales.