Global Times reported that coal inventories in Qinhuangdao, Tangshan and Huanghua, China's major coal ports, have reached record highs in recent days, sparking safety concerns for the Chinese energy market.

According to the latest figures, coal supplies among the three ports totaled 18.3 million tonnes on June 30 or 8.6illion tonnes, 8.4 illion tonnesand 1.3 million tonnes, respectively.

Qinhuangdao Port, located in north China's Hebei province, is the world's largest coal loading port, and it handles half of China's coal needs. On June 25, the coal inventory in storage at Qinhuangdao totaled 9.08 million tonnes, while the designed volume for pile is 10.18 million tonnes. The pile at Qinhuangdao was started in May. On June 18, coal inventories at this port hit 9.46 tonnes, the highest level since November 2008, according to official statistics.

At the port of Tangshan, which is also strategically located in Hebei in order to transport coal from northern to southern China, the coal inventory on June 25 totaled 8.1 million tonnes, just shy of the maximum volume of 8.7 million tonnes.

Mr Li Xin a senior official with the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association said “China's coal stocks are estimated at about 300 million tonnes, equivalent to the entire country's coal consumption in one month.

Industry insiders say that the slowdown in domestic economic growth reduced demand for thermal coal in China, which was caused by overcapacity in coal's downstream industries, including the steel, cement, electricity and real estate industries. Moreover, China imported 86.55 million tonnes of coal in the first four months, up nearly 70 percent year on year.

Source - Global Times

(www.coalguru.com)