Coal sales for the first six months of this year reached 123.1Mt, 7% higher than the same period in 2008.

But coal export figures revealed the impact of the global downturn, dropping 42.5% to 6.1Mt compared to 10.6Mt in the first half of last year.

For the month of June, Shenhua produced 18.3Mt, 21.2% higher year-on-year, while coal sales increased 16.8% to 22.2Mt.

Coal exports for June were down 65% to 700,000 tonnes compared to the 2Mt in June last year.

Shenhua noted that major differences might exist between monthly operational data due to various factors, such as bad weather and equipment overhauls.