The total sales target for next year has been set at 36 million tonnes, which includes 2.5 million tonnes stockpiled in reserve stores.

The coal and mineral industry’s 2009 targets, which also include 9,000 tonnes of copper, 6,500 tonnes of tin and 300 kg of gold, were announced at a business conference held in the coal-mining province of Quang Ninh on Dec. 19, where numerous contracts between producers and buyers were signed.

To attain these figures, the group said it would focus on marketing and looking after its workers. The group pledged to implement a range of proactive measures, such as the expansion of its sales network to boost domestic market share, while tightening up the monitoring of coal production to put a stop to illegal exploitation.

Exports were also in the focus at the workshop, with exporters being urged to speed up coal screening and processing procedures, particularly of low-energy coal, in an effort to improve the quality of their products.

The group vowed to increase levels of labour safety through the installation of fire-alarm systems in the coal mines.