Shanxi, China's top coal producing province, plans to cut coking coal production by about 10 percent, due to sharp falls in demand and prices, the provincial government said on its website.
Shanxi will start to make adjustments to coal production capacity and control the amount of coal that is shipped out of the province. But the province vowed to ensure production of thermal coal, which will be in high demand as winter approaches.
Demand for coking coal, a key feed in the steel industry, has fallen sharply in the past two months as output weakens.
(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2008)