Tuesday, March 23, 2010

China Coal Imports To Exceed 30 Million Tons

Coking coal imports by China, the world’s biggest steelmaker, will exceed 30 million metric tons this year as domestic supplies can’t keep pace with demand from mills; so said Teck Resources Ltd, CEO Don Lindsay at a conference in Singapore.

With Chinese steel output continuing to rise, demand for coking coal will also increase. China’s coking coal imports rose five-fold in 2009 from 6.85 million tons to 34.4 million tons after the government closed smaller coal mines in the wake of a number of high-profile mining accidents.

“China is hungry for commodities on an unprecedented scale,” said Mr Lindsay. “Domestic supply of high-quality coking coal required will not be able to keep pace with steel production growth.”

Teck Resources is the second-largest seaborne shipper of coal and wants to boost coking coal output by 50 percent within five years, Mr Lindsay said.

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