China expects the export price of metallurgic coke, a key material for steelmakers, to rise as much as 24 percent this year as a result of strong world demand and fewer exports, the China Daily reported on Monday. The price was seen hovering around $260 a tonne this year, compared with $210 to $230 per tonne in the fourth quarter of 2004, it quoted the China Coal and Coke Holdings as saying.

China's exports markets are mainly United States, Japan and the European Union.

China had set a export quota of 14 million tonnes of coke for 2005, a fall of 1.0 million tonnes from 2004, the paper said.

In 2004, exports to the United States and Japan increased by 72.5 percent and 23.2 percent, respectively, from 2003, it said. Prices of exports to the United States were about $100 higher than to the EU.

China's soaring demand for coke in the steel industry was part of the reason for reduced coke exports, the China Daily quoted China Coal Industry Association vice-president Zhu Deren as saying.

"In the first place, China's coke production should satisfy domestic demand," it quoted Zhu as saying.

"Besides, over-expansion of coke production is detrimental to China's long-term sustainable development, as coke production causes grave environmental pollution," Zhu said.

China was expected to produce 215 million tonnes of coke in 2005, up about 10 percent from 2004, while domestic consumption was seen at 207 million tonnes this year, it said.

China produced about half the world supply of coke last year.

Copyright Reuters, 2005