BEIJING, April 13 -- China's coal output declined 3.5 percent year on year to 850 million tonnes in the first quarter of this year, the China National Coal Association (CNCA) said on Monday.

According to the association, the sales volume of coal shrank 4.7 percent to 800 million tonnes in the first three months while total losses of 90 major coal enterprises hit 13.1 billion yuan (2.13 billion U.S. dollars).

China imported 32.04 million tonnes of coal in the Jan.-March period, down 45.3 percent from a year ago, and the country's coal reserves have exceeded 300 million tonnes for 39 consecutive months.

Wang Xianzheng, the CNCA's head, said the weakness in the coal industry will remain unchanged for a long time with lower prices, but there are space and opportunities for future development.

He urged stricter regulations to control production capacity, stabilize coal prices and guarantee employment to cut coal output by 5 percent by the end of 2015.

Higher efficiency and added value will help change coal consumption and upgrade the industry, Wang added.