Top China coal firm Shenhua's July output up 17 pct

SHANGHAI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - China Shenhua Energy Co (1088.HK) (601088.SS), the listed unit of the country's biggest coal producer, produced 16.2 million tonnes of coal in July, up 17.4 percent year-on-year, the company said on Friday.

Coal sales in July rose 12.1 percent from the same period last year to 19.4 million tonnes, while exports rose 5.6 percent to 1.9 million tonnes, the company said in a statement.

Beijing has urged coal mines to boost production to help tackle coal shortages that have emerged in many parts of the country. (Reporting by Alfred Cang; Editing by Edmund Klamann)