The Eastern coal giant’s average contractual price of coal exports to Japan rose to US$51.93 per tonne. Exports to customers including Tokyo Electric Power and Nippon Steel account for about 45% of Yanzhou’s sales.

For 2004 Yanzhou had settled its coal export volume to Japan at 10.4 million tonnes, representing about 87% of its planned coal exports of 12 million tonnes this year, Reuters News reported.

Yanzhou reduced export tonnage was in line with Chinese government policy, which is trying to keep coal in China for electricity generation. The company cut its export target by 12% this year.

Thermal coal exports fell 5.5% to 5.15Mt whilst semi-soft coking coal export volumes rose 0.4% to 5.25Mt.

Yanzhou contract export thermal coal prices had risen 65% to $48.30 per tonne and coking coal had jumped 75.4% to $55.50 per tonne.

In 2002, Yanzhou produced 38.435 million tons of raw coal. As of December 31, 2002, the in-place proven and probable reserves of six coal mines totaled almost two billion tons.