China is still experiencing an overall coal shortage despite growing stockpiles in some areas, although supply shortfall  pressure  will  ease  later this year, a coal industry expert told Interfax on Sept. 17.

    "The nationwide  coal  supply shortage that started in the summer is not over, despite  high  coal  stockpiles that were recorded in the past two weeks,"   said  Li  Chaolin,  a  senior  coal  industry  researcher  forCoalWorld, a specialized industry portal.

    Northern  Shandong-based  Qinhuangdao  Port,  the  country's  major coaltrans-shipment  port, saw its coal stockpiles swell by 3 million tons to 8.32 million tons on Sept. 11. Meanwhile, some major unloading ports and coal-fired   power  plants  in  the  south  also  reported  record  coal inventories.

    However,  most  of the country, including north western Qinghai Province, southwestern  Guizhou  Province  and  the central provinces of Henan and Jiangxi,  still  faces  severe  coal  supply  shortfalls as local prices continue to soar, said Li, who based his comments on talks with regional coal market watchers.

    Li's analysis differed from that of some analysts who have reported that the supply shortage is over.

    The problem   is   the   country's  unreasonably  managed  railway  coaltransportation system, Li said.

    Chinese  railway  authorities,  pressured  by  government  quotas,  have continued  to  send  coal  to  coastal  regions where demand has fallen, leaving the overburdened system unable to transport enough coal to whereit is needed,  Li  said,  adding  that  high  costs  and load limits has prevented the transportation of coal by road.

    Despite  ongoing  shortages in some areas, Li believes the coming winter will not see another supply crisis like in the summer, both of which are peak consumption seasons.

    "It is because  domestic  demand  and  supply are both growing at slower speeds and are very likely to balance out this year," he said.

    Domestic  demand  for  coal  has  slowed along with the country's waning economy, Li said.

    Meanwhile,  coal  supply  will  also be reduced this winter because some small-scale  coalmines  usually  shut down for two to three months, when bad weather makes transportation difficult, Li explained.

    He predicted  that  the  country's coal output in 2008 will reach around 2.7 billion  tons,  rising by 10 percent year-on-year, and national coal consumption will also amount to a similar figure.

    In 2007,  China  produced  2.52  billion  tons of coal and consumed 2.53 billion tons, according to China National Coal Association statistics.