The leading coal producer churned out 17.47Mt last month and sold 22.4Mt.

China was a net coal importer of 67.57Mt in 2009 with Shenhua exporting a mere 1.3Mt, a 35.8% fall from 2008 when the country was a net coal exporter of 17.43Mt.

Despite Shenhua’s higher production, forced mine closures in the small mines sector and growing coal demand saw China lift its coal imports 208% last year to 125.83Mt.