Shanxi Raw Coal Output Falls 5.5% to 617 Million Tonnes in H1 2026; Inner Mongolia Leads

Data from the Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Statistics showed that in the first half of 2026, the province's gross regional product was 1,174.71 billion yuan, up 2.1% year-on-year at constant prices. Among that, coal industry value added was flat from a year earlier. According to the National Bureau of Statistics database, Shanxi's raw coal output in June was 78.012 million tonnes, down 31.5% year-on-year and down 24.408 million tonnes or 23.83% month-on-month. Cumulative output from January to June was 616.733 million tonnes, down 5.5% year-on-year.

In 2025, Shanxi's coal output reached 1.3045 billion tonnes, exceeding Inner Mongolia to reclaim the top national spot. For the first five months of 2026, Shanxi's monthly raw coal output remained above 100 million tonnes, but output fell sharply in June. On May 22, a gas explosion occurred at the Liushenyu coal mine of Tongzhou Group in Qinyuan County, Changzhi City, Shanxi. After the accident, safety inspections were intensified across the province, and a large number of coal mines were suspended for rectification.

Compared with Shanxi's sharp reduction, Inner Mongolia's raw coal output reached 116.064 million tonnes in June, up 7.2% year-on-year and up 7.75% month-on-month. Cumulative output in the first half was 658.649 million tonnes, accounting for 27.85% of the national total. Inner Mongolia overtook Shanxi by a margin of nearly 42 million tonnes. In recent years, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia have alternated in the lead: Inner Mongolia was first from 2009 to 2013, Shanxi from 2014 to 2015, Inner Mongolia from 2016 to 2019, Shanxi from 2020 to 2023, and Inner Mongolia regained the top spot in 2024.

In the first quarter of 2026, Shanxi's GDP grew 4.2%, industrial value added above designated size increased 6.4% year-on-year, and coal industry value added rose 11.2%. From January to May, the province's industrial value added above designated size grew 3.8% year-on-year, and coal industry value added increased 6.6%. But in the first half, the province's industrial value added above designated size fell 0.2% year-on-year, and coal industry value added was flat. On July 25, Shanxi Governor Lu Dongliang presided over a meeting of mayors and an analysis of the province's economic performance in the first half. The meeting stressed that while resolutely combating illegal and unlawful coal mine production, the province should promote the acceptance inspection, rectification, and resumption of production at temporarily suspended coal mines on a mine-specific basis, orderly push forward capacity expansion and stable production in the coal industry, and strengthen support from non-coal industries by implementing a special action for manufacturing revitalization and upgrading.