On January 23, more than 40 metallurgical coke producers from the Chinese provinces of Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu and Shandong came together in Shandong Province to discuss the situation in the coking industry and problems relating to the upstream and downstream industries. The representatives of the coke producers reached a consensus at the meeting that it is necessary to restrict output by 30 percent of full capacity due to weak demand. They also suggested that, considering the rising prices of coking coal, ex-factory prices of coke should be adjusted as follows:
First grade metallurgical coke - RMB 2,150/mt ($326.75/mt)
Second grade metallurgical coke - RMB 2,050/mt ($311.55/mt)
Additional price recommendations (ex-factory) included:
Coal tar - RMB 3,600/mt ($547.11/mt)
Crude benzol - RMB 6,000/mt($911.85/mt)
Ammonium soleplate - RMB 850/mt ($129.18/mt).