BEIJING, Aug.1 (Xinhuanet) -- As coal prices remain lackluster due to sluggish demand, Shanxi took measures to stabilize the local coal market and ease the mounting pressure that coal producers in the province have been feeling since January.

The Shanxi provincial government has introduced 20 measures, including tax and administrative charge cuts, to accelerate the economic transformation and development of its coal industry and maintain sustainable growth, a notice posted on the government's website said.

The short-term measures will be implemented from Aug 1 to Dec 31. Governments at different levels will also suspend the collection of environmental protection fees and industrial transformation development fees from coal mines, and cut coal trading service fees by 50 percent.

The province will also urge financial institutions to help coal companies conduct debt-restructuring projects, and establish mechanisms to set up coal reserves organized by local governments. The long-term measures are expected to improve coal spot and futures trading.

Before Shanxi's move, major coal production regions such as the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Shandong and Henan provinces had also started to act to respond to the surging number of companies halting or cutting production in light of the adverse market conditions.

Twenty-six large Chinese coal producers have chalked up combined losses of 4.66 billion yuan (759.58 million U.S. dollars) in the first half, according to the Beijing-based China National Coal Association.

"The prolonged slump in domestic coal prices has put a number of Chinese mining companies in a negative position. They have difficulties facing the surge in payment delays, rising transportation fees, as well as labor and operational costs," said Liu Jianzhong, the chairman of Shanxi Coal Transportation and Sales Group Co Ltd in Taiyuan.