China's Coke Demand to Hit 380 mln Tons in 2010

BEIJING, Mar. 29 -- China's coke demand is expected to reach 370 million  to 380 million tons this year, said Huang Jingan, president of China Coking Industry Association at a meeting last week.

In the first two months of this year, the country's coke output surged 23.4% year on year to 58.91 million tons, whereas it recorded a 6.3% decline in the same period of 2009. China's imported 7.5 million tons of coking coal in the period from January to February, 388% more year on year.

In 2009, China's consumed 352.6 million tons of coke, 37 million tons or 11.78% more than in the previous year. The country's coking industry is expected to reap  RMB 11 billion in profit last year.

China, the world's largest crude steel producer, produced 50.36 million tons of crude steel in the first two months, which accounted for nearly 50% of the world's total.