TIANJIN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China's liquid petroleum gas (LPG) shortfall is expected to hit 7.3 million tons by 2010, driven by surging demand, an industry official said.

    Bai Yi, deputy head of the National Petroleum and Chemical Planning Institute, made the remarks at an industry forum held in this port city over the weekend, attributing the surge to demand from eastern and southern China and rural areas.

    Representatives from academic institutions and the chemical industry took part in the forum to discuss important issues related to the current and prospective situation in China's chemical production industry.

    Although clean energies, such as methane gas, wind and solar energy, have become more popular in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, small-and medium-sized cities still favor LPG, said Bai.

    Bai added that there is growth potential in this market.

    Consumption in small-and medium-sized cities in the east and south accounts for 62 percent of total national volume. Growing demand for LPG has been seen in the glass, cement and ceramics industries in these areas, said Bai.

    Per capita LPG consumption in China hit 17.3 kilograms in 2006 but this was still well below the level of the European Union and the United States, said Bai.

    Bai predicted that the growth of LPG consumption would gradually slow down in the next decade, because of the emerging liquid natural gas market.

    China's LPG consumption has grown by 20 percent annually since the 1990s, and its imports rank second in the world, only after Japan.

    China imported 6.98 million tonnes of LPG costing 3.09 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, year-on-year growth rates of 15.2 percent and 2 percent, respectively, according to Chinese customs data.