China 2010 Rare Earth Exports Drop 9.3%, Customs Says
Exports of rare earths from China, which supplies more than 90 percent of the world’s needs, fell by 9.3 percent last year as the government tightened domestic mining to curb pollution.
China exported 39,813 metric tons of rare earths elements in 2010, according to customs data released today. The value of the exports more than tripled to $939.7 million.
Rare earths are 17 chemically similar elements used in renewable energy, electric cars and weapons. The government set an export quota of 30,258 tons for 2010. This counts only oxide, while customs data include ore, oxides and compounds, so the reported figure is larger than the quota, Peng Bo, an analyst at Guosen Securities Co., said by phone today.
Restrictions on rare earth supplies to the rest of the world have led to surging prices, prompting illegal exports that siphon off 20 percent to 30 percent of output, the Chinese Society of Rare Earths said. This undermines the accuracy of the government data, according to Peng.
“Rare earth smuggling has been quite rampant,” she said. “The higher rare earth prices go, the more severe the smuggling is. So the figure itself is not very meaningful to interpret.”
China raised export taxes to 25 percent and slashed export quotas by 35 percent in the first half this year to further rein in pollution and tackle a decline in local reserves, which has triggered complaints from trading partners and price surges.
China’s commerce ministry and other agencies are considering the full-year export quota after setting this year’s first batch at 14,446 tons, the ministry said on Jan. 18.
The country exported 4,738 tons of rare earths in December, more than double the amount in November, customs data showed. The value increased fourfold to $309.2 million, it said.
To contact the Bloomberg News staff on this story: Xiao Yu in Beijing at yxiao@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story Andrew Hobbs in Sydney at ahobbs@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page