Japan, Korea fell the Chinese licence pinch

摘要

Chinese government delays in issuing export licences is starting to significantly hit the exporters, in particular China Coal. The company has informed, its long-term contract customers in China and Korea that September deliveries will be lower than expected. Japanese customers have requested September shipments of l.05mt, including 0.39mt of Yanzhou material, on their long-term contracts. However, the Chinese say that they can only guarantee 0.38mt. Average monthly shipments should be 0.83mt to satisfy the 10mt of contracted volume. With China Coal responsible for 90 percent of the contract volume, it appears that its inability to perform is the cause of the shortfall. Shenhua shipments on its 1mt contract are going smoothly and are significantly ahead of schedule with 85 percent of the April-March contract volume due to be delivered by the end of this month. A Japan Coal Development official is now in China to visit China Coal and discuss its delivery problems.