The Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Corporation (Vinacomin) has reported that it sold 18.95 million tonnes of coal in the first half of 2014, equivalent to 54.1 percent of its yearly plan and up 2 percent from a year earlier.

Increasing coal sales pushed the group’s six-month revenue from the resource up by 13 percent year on year, said Vinacomin Deputy General Director Nguyen Van Bien at a meeting in Hanoi on July 10.

Notably, coal consumption by fertiliser makers climbed 29 percent compared to the same period last year, followed by that of power plants (up 27 percent), he added.

Bien also reported that Vinacomin turned out 19.6 million tonnes of crude coal over the period, representing 52 percent of the yearly plan.

He attributed such outcomes to the corporation’s efforts in improving the quality of processed coal and bettering operation regulations.

Vinacomin targets 35 million tonnes of coal to be sold this year, including 27-28 million tonnes for the domestic market and 7-8 million tonnes for export.-VNA