China's coal output, sales decline

BEIJING -- China's coal output and sales both declined in the first seven months of 2013, statistics from the China National Coal Association (CNCA) showed on Monday.

The country's coal output in the January-July period stood at 2.13 billion tons, down 3.5 percent from the same period last year, while sales decreased 3.9 percent to 2.07 billion tons, according to the association.

Meanwhile, fixed asset investment in the coal mining industry declined 1.6 percent to 258.9 billion yuan, said CNCA vice president Jiang Zhimin in a news conference.

In the first seven months, China imported a total of 187 million tons of coal, up 14.1 percent while exports declined 22 percent to 4.9 million tons, said Jiang.

In the first six months, the net profit of the country's large- and medium-sized coal producers declined 43.3 percent from the same period last year, according to the CNCA.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, with official data showing the country's coal production reached 3.66 billion tons in 2012.