More than 2,000 tons of coke have been shipped by train to Duisberg in Germany from Tianjin, an industrial center and a leading port in northern China.

The land transport was at the request of a German coke purchaser after a short supply of marine cargo vessels at Tianjin port.

According to the entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau of Tianjin, the 2,023.97 tons of coke was loaded in 102 containers and shipped out of the port in 51 railway carriages.

China is the biggest coke producer in the world and exports to steel manufacturers worldwide. As China's largest coke export port, 85 percent of the country's annual coke export, approximately 12 million tons, leaves from Tianjin. In the first two months of this year, China exported 2.29 million tons of coke, including 1.94 million tons exported via Tianjin port.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, China's export quota of coke has been set at 14 million tons for the current year, roughly the same as 2004.

Source: Xinhua