Navigation

sail Online
Visited by mobile
back top

China coke industry faces tough task ahead, CCIA

Date:19/04/2014   View: 1025   Tags: China coke industry; Tough task
China still has a long way to go in tackling oversupply in its coke sector, as new capacity continues to be built and demand remains flat, said Cui Pijiang, president of the China coking industry Association (CCIA), at the 2014 Coaltrans meeting in Shanghai on April 11.<br /> <br /> The Chinese coke industry is plagued with serious overcapacity, with an average utilization rate of about 74% last year, up slightly from 70% in 2010-2012. Resolving this, however, involves interests of multiple parties, mainly due to low level of industry concentration, Cui said.<br /> <br /> The central government did implemented measures to ease oversupply in the past years, but the actual effect was less than satisfactory.<br /> <br /> Though the number of coke plants in China dropped by nearly half in the past 10 years to 720 in 2013, more than 100 plants are still operating coke ovens with a chamber height less than 4.3m (excl. tamping ovens of 3.8m-4.3m), totaling 32 million tonnes in annual capacity.<br /> <br /> Moreover, new capacities are still being built. Last year, 43 new coke ovens commenced operation in China, bringing an additional 26.6 million tonnes of production capacity.<br /> <br /> It would be an arduous task to resolve overcapacity and eliminate backward capacities, Cui said, warning further shutdowns would be needed to help the coke market get out of its turbulence.<br /> <br /> Future policy measures should include closures of coke facilities and the reorganization of the industry structure, Cui said, noting advancements in innovation can be used a crucial means of boosting coke quality and reducing costs.<br /> <br /> Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China produced 476 million tonnes of coke in 2013, only accounting for 75.4% of the country’s production capacity of around 631 million tonnes.<br /> <br /> Domestic coke market was in stagnancy last year as a result of weak demand from steel sector amid staggering economy. Cui estimated that only about half of last year’s output was supplied to end-users.<br /> <br /> Despite notable increase since the removal of 40% export duty in 2013, the country’s coke export remained meager. In the first quarter of 2014, China exported 1.94 million tonnes of coke and semi-coke, 6.2 times up from the previous year but only taking around 2% of the total output during the same period.<br /> <br /> Coke producers in China are experiencing the toughest time of the sector and suffering great losses amid low prices. In 2013, about 40% of the coke suppliers in China suffered losses, with total deficits reaching 11.77 billion yuan.<br /> <br /> <p> Most independent coke plants in Shandong and Hebei gained favorable profitability thanks to better utilization of coke oven gas and highly efficient recycling and processing of chemical products, while other less efficient peers in Shanxi still suffered severe losses, Cui said. </p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <img src="/upfiles/news/image/20140419/20140419141846_1935.jpg" alt="" /> </p>

Menu

Hot News

skype sail Online Email:sales@chinacoalintl.com
menu
Home Products Top

+

+

Please leave a message


skype sail Online Email:sales@chinacoalintl.com
menu
Home Products Top

+

+

Please leave a message