Hanoi (VNA) - The domestic coal sector is going through a tough time owingto serious competition from cheap imported coal, the Ministry of Industry andTrade (MoIT) has said.

Thishad significantly affected the sector’s production and business, the ministrysaid, adding that companies were trying hard to maintain production, retainemployees and maintain labourers’ incomes.

Toreduce the gap between production costs and selling prices, the VietnamNational Coal and Mineral Group (Vinacomin) promulgated Decision No 3005/QĐ-TKVon December 23, 2016, increasing the selling price of domestic coal by 3 percentto 10.7 percent, depending on the kind of coal. However, no units have signedcoal purchasing contracts with Vinacomin so far this year.

Lastmonth, the production of clean coal was estimated at 3.2 million tonnes, a 16.4percent year-on-year increase. In the first two months of 2017, coal productiontouched 5.9 million tonnes, which is a 6.3 percent drop compared to the sameperiod last year.

TheMoIT said the sector should focus on maximising coal and minerals productionand use, especially of those products that have high demand, such as coal lumpand high-quality coal dust, and ensure that there is sufficient coal forelectricity production.

TheMoIT has also asked the coal sector to manufacture more mining equipment andimprove co-operation with foreign countries so as to get access to bettertechnologies.-VNA