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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (4284)	1/27/2005 10:03:54 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

China says coal shortage its biggest economic threat - report Friday, January 28, 2005 2:09:57 AM afxpress.com BEIJING (AFX) - China's coal shortage is its biggest economic challenge this year, and it is expected to worsen, state media reported The China Daily cited Pu Hongjiu, deputy director of the China Coal Industry Association (CCIA), as saying China would consume 2.1 bln metric tons of coal this year, up six pct or 120 mln tons on last year Pu said on Wednesday that China could boost its coal output by 100 mln tons this year, at the most, by opening several mines. But the official indicated production might fall short of that target, the China Daily reported Xinhuanet reported that Cao Yushu, deputy secretary-general of the State Reform and Development Commission, said yesterday that the coal shortfall would replace electricity shortages as the biggest challenge to China's economy this year "To balance the demand and supply of coal will be the major task for China's economic control in 2005," Cao said The China Daily said the nation's collieries produced 1.96 bln tons of coal last year, a year-on-year rise of 13.2 pct. But small coal mines at county level, which accounted for 35 pct of output last year, might not contribute as much this year because of poor safety records. CCIA official Pu said some mines would be shut down but did not say when, China Daily reported "The stretched coal supply has intensified this year... The supply-demand gap will swell greatly," Pu was quoted as saying China has run low on coal since late 2003 because of a surge in power generation, which consumes half of the nation's coal output. An inadequate rail network has also created bottlenecks in coal transportation. Coal stockpiles at power plants can only last for eight days, with plants in Hunan, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces only having three days' worth of supplies, China Daily said. sr/dk For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com fxstreet.com