COALTRANS CHINA: Coking industry faces mounting pressure

China's coking industry has faced mounting pressure over the last few years as coke prices fell to their lowest since 2008, a senior official of Shandong Tiexiong Metallurgical Technology said.

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Overcapacity and tighter environmental regulations are the industry’s two main challenges, Su Henghu, the chairman of the group, told delegates at the 12th Coaltrans China conference in Shanghai on Thursday April 10.

China has about 2,200 coke plants with more than 600 million tpy of coke production capacity. In 2013, the country produced 476 million tonnes of coke, up 8.13% from 2012 levels.

The country has also shut down more than 17 million tpy worth of capacity last year, Su said.

But overcapacity remains a serious issue and coke plants’ margins have been squeezed as a result of falling steel prices.

The Chinese government’s focus on the environment also puts the coking industry under a lot of pressure due to the tighter regulations imposed, Su said.