China’s Commerce Ministry to add rare earths to export report directory

By including rare earths – which is already subject to export license management – in the catalog, China will require foreign trade operators to report relevant export information when they ship rare earths.

The ministry also announced on Tuesday that crude oil, iron ore, copper concentrate and potassium fertilizer will be subject to automatic import license management and have been added to the Catalog of Energy Resource Products Subject to Import Reporting.

The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Minerals and Chemicals (CCCMC) is to be responsible for collecting, organizing, summarizing, analyzing and verifying the report information of the five newly added energy and resource products.

“As the policy has just [been announced], we will monitor whether it will have further impact on the export sector for rare earths,” a rare earths buyer said.

China has increased efforts to promote the development of the rare earths industry, given its status as a strategic material.

On November 3, Chinese Premier Li Qiang chaired a State Council executive meeting to study and promote the high-quality development of the rare earths industry.

The rare earths industry needs to coordinate the exploration, development, utilization and standardized management of rare earth resources, as well as various forces such as industry, academia, research and application, according to the official government website report on the meeting.

China will actively promote the research and application of new generation green and efficient mining, selection and smelting technologies, increase the research and industrialization process of high-end rare earth new materials, crack down on illegal mining, ecological destruction and other behaviors, and focus on promoting the high-end, intelligent and green development of the rare earth industry, meeting delegates heard.

“Supported by the meeting, most rare earth prices have steadied at current levels and the market has gained some confidence with better market sentiment seen,” a producer said.

Fastmarkets’ newly launched weekly assessment for neodymium-praseodymium oxide 99% ratio (75:25), fob China was $70-73 per kg on November 2.

Keep up to date with the latest news, insights and rare earth price data on our dedicated rare earths price page.