Adjustments to import and export tariffs announced Wednesday by China's Ministry of Finance are unlikely to impact Chinese ferroalloy and coal exports, traders in both sectors said Thursday.

The MOF announcement of changes to be implemented on January 1 did not provide details of the adjustments, stating only "coal, crude oil, fertilizer and ferroalloys will continue to be imposed with provisional taxes in 2014, with fertilizer to enjoy lower export taxes."

An MOF official said Thursday: "We will publish the detailed list with the commodities to be affected in a couple of days."

Ferroalloy and coal market sources believed the statement indicated there would be no change to the 20-25% export taxes currently imposed on ferroalloys and 10% export tax imposed on coking and thermal coal.

"It looks like the government may not drop the export tax and it still does not encourage the export of ferroalloys," a trader in northwest China's Gansu autonomous region said. "But we would still like to see the actual list of export tax rates for 2014 to be very sure," she added.

Chinese ferrosilicon exports are currently taxed at 25%. The trader said there had been speculation in recent months that the government might lower that rate to 10-15%.

Market sources in China's silicon manganese and ferro molybdenum export sectors were not hopeful the 20% tariff on their exports would be reduced. "The tax rate has been expected to be left unchanged given the Chinese government has been intensifying its clampdown on environmental regulations," a Beijing-based trader said.

A ferro moly exporter in northwest China's Shaanxi province was hopeful the tax on ferro moly would be reviewed in the second half of 2014.

China has imposed taxes of 20-25% on exports of ferroalloy products since January 2008 and a 10% tariff on exports of coking and thermal coal since August 2008 as part of efforts to discourage exports of power-intensive, high polluting commodities.