By Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s exports of rare earths jumped 20.31% in March from a year earlier as overseas consumers booked more cargoes, fearing prices could rise further due to supply disruptions from the ongoing conflict in major supplier Myanmar.
China’s exports of the group of 17 minerals stood at 5,666.3 metric tons last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
That compared to 4,710 tons in the same month in 2024, and 3,217 tons in February.
Rare earths are used in a wide range of products including lasers, military equipment, electric vehicles, wind turbines and consumer electronics. China is the world’s largest producer.
In the first quarter of 2025, rare earth exports rose 5.1% from a year earlier to 14,177.6 tons, the customs data showed.
Exports in April are likely to fall as shipments of seven rare earths placed on an export control list last week by Beijing have ground to halt, raising the risk of shortages overseas as Chinese exporters begin the long, uncertain wait for government licences.
Beijing announced on April 4 it was placing seven categories of medium and heavy rare earths – samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium-related items- on its export restriction list with immediate effect.
Neha Mukherjee, senior analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said China’s latest export controls came on top of already volatile heavy rare earth elements (HREE) supply due to disruptions in Myanmar, putting more than 75% of global mined medium and heavy REEs at risk and stirring short-term price volatility.
“While stockpiles may cover near-term demand, our estimates suggest that they will only suffice until the first half of 2025,and concerns around export delays could drive price spikes,” Mukherjee added.
Already, China’s spot prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide averaged 443,071 yuan a ton last month, 1.4% and 25.9% higher than February and March 2024, respectively, data from information provider Shanghai Metals Market showed.
China’s rare earths imports in March fell 42.16% on the year to 7,756.9 tons due to the problems in Myanmar, despite the resumption of shipments of existing rare earth inventory to China from March 27.
Total imports in the first quarter were 24,679.1 tons, a decline of 30.9% year-on-year, the customs data showed.
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Kate Mayberry)
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