Interfax-China reported that China Ministry of Commerce on July 8 set a coke export quota of 3.82 million tonnes for the H2 of 2011.
MOFCOM said the quota is shared between 41 companies with China Sinochem Corp receiving the largest allowance of 309,000 tonnes. China Minmetals Corp. and Shanxi Dajin International Co Ltd followed with quotas of 275,000 tonnes and 198,000 tonnes respectively.
Mr Zeng Lili ChinaCCM.com coke analyst said China set a coke export quota of 4.6 million tonnes for the H1 of 2011 meaning the total quota for the year has decreased by 580,000 tonnes compared to 2010 figures.
China coke exports have declined steadily since 2008 which Mr Zeng attributed to the global economic downturn and an August 2008 hike in export duties from 25% to 40%.
Mr Zeng forecast China coke production to reach 400 million tonnes this year with export quotas to continue falling. He said that "Although China has excess production capacity and it will continue to limit coke exports in order to protect domestic resources."