Raw coal production in the first quarter was 569 million tons, up 14.6% from the same period last year, and down 0.2% in growth rate. According to the custom¡¯s data, coal export was 10.2 million tons, down 10.7%; import was 11.26 million tons, down 21.3%; net import was 1.06 million tons, down 1.83 million tons from the same period last year. At the end of March, direct-supply coal stock in power plants is 22.66 million tons, down 40,000 tons from the beginning of the year. The stock basically remained at a normal level. In the previous two months, the coal industry realized a profit of 17.5 billion yuan, up 66.8%.  

The country generated 805.1 billion KWH of electricity in the first quarter, up 14% from the same period last year but down 1.5% in growth rate ; with thermal power and hydro power each rising by 13.4% and 11.4% respectively. Due to various reasons including the damaged grids being fully repaired or rebuilt, the demand for electricity is set to rise very rapidly. In March, provincial power grids in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou had to switch off to restrict power use. Power supply in Guangdong continued to be tight in particular. In the past two months, the power industry has suffered huge losses due to rising coal price and damage caused by the snow storms. It realized 9.54 billion yuan in profit, down 55.9%. The profit in the same period last year was up 59.2%. Power production and power supply industries saw their profits fell by 70.6% and 37.6% while the figures of the same period last year were up 40.1% and 89.8% respectively. 

In the first quarter, the nation¡¯

s crude oil production was 468.5 million tons, up 2.2%; crude oil import was 455.3 million tons (data from the custom¡¯s office), up 14.9%. It processed 845.9 million tons of crude oil, up 7.6% from the same period last year and up 2% in growth rate. Production of petrol and diesel was up 7% and 11.2% respectively, and the growth rate was 1.5% and 7.2% higher. China produced 20.66 billion cubic meters of natural gas, up 18.6%. In the past two months, the petrochemical industry realised a profit of 76.1 billion yuan, down 6.7% from the same period last year. The growth rate in the same period last year was 24.2%. The oil and natural gas recovery industry made a profit of 78.8 billion yuan, up 61.2%; the oil refinery industry had a net loss of 23.9 billion yuan while the net profit in the same period last year was 14.5 billion yuan. The chemical industry made a profit of 21.2 billion yuan, up 16.4%.