On October 18, the China National Coal Association announced that the aggregate coal output in China is expected to exceed 3.7 billion mt this year, while in the current year the newly-added coal output capacity has exceeded the growth of demand. Overcapacity plus high import levels are expected to continue to impact the Chinese domestic coal market.
In the January-September period of this year, China’s total coal output amounted to 2.88 billion mt, up 3.6 percent on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, in the given period sales of domestic coal in China reached 2.78 billion mt, increasing by 2.4 percent year on year. In the first three quarters, China’s overall coal consumption totaled 3.02 billion mt, up 2.8 percent year on year. In the first nine months of this year, China’s net coal imports totaled 200 million mt, indicating an increase of 44 percent year on year, while the country imported 20 million mt of coal in September.
In the first three quarters, China’s coal transportation by railways amounted to 1.683 billion mt, down 0.1 percent compared to the same period of last year. As of the end of September this year, total coal inventory in China stood at 287 million mt.
Meanwhile, in the January-August period of this year, the aggregate net profit of 90 major coal enterprises in China indicated a decrease of 14.5 percent year on year.