
Earlier this week the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced the second round of allocations of rare-earth export quotas for 2014, to companies operating in China. This follows the initial announcement on the first allocation for 2014, which was made in December 2013.
A total of 15,501 t of export quotas was allocated in this second round, comprising 13,692 t of light rare-earth (LRE) products and 1,809 t of medium / heavy rare-earth (M / HRE) products. This brings the total allocations for 2014 to 30,611 t, which is similar to the totals for the past four years.
We can now take a look at the specific allocation numbers associated with this week’s announcement, before reviewing allocations over the past few years. The companies below, highlighted in green are Chinese / non-Chinese joint-venture (JV) companies – the rest are Chinese-owned. The list is sorted from highest-to-lowest total allocation:
Exporting Company | Allocation (tonnes) | ||
LRE | M/HRE | Total | |
Grirem Advanced Materials Co. | 1,028 | 195 | 1,223 |
China Nonferrous Import-Export Co. Jiangsu Branch | 954 | 189 | 1,143 |
Baotou Solvay Rare Earth Co.* | 959 | 98 | 1,057 |
Gansu Rare Earth New Materials Co. | 964 | 56 | 1,020 |
Yixing Xinwei Leeshing Rare Earth Co. | 683 | 136 | 819 |
Yiyang Hongyuan Rare Earth Co. | 790 | 24 | 814 |
Leshan Shenghe Rare Earth Technology Co. | 720 | 39 | 759 |
Ganzhou Qiandong Rare Earth Group Co. | 615 | 118 | 733 |
China Minmetals Corporation** | 604 | 114 | 718 |
Ganzhou Chenguang Rare Earth New Materials Co. | 637 | 59 | 696 |
Xuzhou Jinshi Pengyuan Rare Earth Materials Co. | 614 | 71 | 685 |
Liyang Solvay Rare Earth New Materials Co.* | 498 | 181 | 679 |
Guangdong Rising Nonferrous Metals Group Co. | 544 | 87 | 631 |
Jiangyin Jiahua Advanced Material Resources Co.*** | 474 | 153 | 627 |
Zibo Jiahua Advanced Material Resources Co.*** | 537 | 9 | 546 |
Jiangxi Rare Earth & Rare Metals Tungsten Group Co. | 475 | 2 | 477 |
Sinosteel Corporation | 435 | 32 | 467 |
Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare Earth Hi-Tech Co.**** | 377 | 11 | 388 |
Baotou Huamei Rare Earth Hi-Tech Co.**** | 369 | 16 | 385 |
Shandong Pengyu Industrial Co. | 279 | 30 | 309 |
Inner Mongolia Baotou Hefa Rare Earth Co.**** | 300 | 8 | 308 |
Chalco Rare Earth (Jiangsu) Co. | 211 | 84 | 295 |
Baotou Tianjiao Seimi Rare Earth Polishing Powder Co.**** | 214 | 8 | 222 |
Baotou Santoku Battery Materials Co. | 199 | 7 | 206 |
Huhhot Rongxin New Metal Smelting Co. | 118 | 10 | 128 |
Guangdong Zhujiang Rare Earth Co. | 64 | 35 | 99 |
Ganxian Hongjin Rare Earth Co.* | 26 | 37 | 63 |
Xi’an Xijun New Materials Co. | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Sub-Total: Chinese-Owned | 10,693 | 1,343 | 12,036 |
Sub-Total: Chinese / Non-Chinese JVs | 2,999 | 466 | 3,465 |
Total | 13,692 | 1,809 | 15,501 |
* Part of Solvay, which was allocated a total of 1,736 t.
** Part of China Minmetals Group, which was allocated a total of 781 t.
*** Part of Molycorp, which was allocated a total of 1,173 t.
**** Part of Baogang Group, which was allocated a total of 1,303 t.
Here is a comparison of the quota allocations for the past six years:
Year | Period | Chinese-owned | Chinese / Non-Chinese JV | Sub-Total | TOTAL |
2009 | H1 | 15,043 | 6,685 | 21,728 | 50,145 |
H2 | 18,257 | 10,160 | 28,417 | ||
2010 | H1 | 16,304 | 5,978 | 22,282 | 30,258 |
H2 | 6,208 | 1,768 | 7,976 | ||
2011 | H1 | 10,762 | 3,746 | 14,508 | 30,246 |
H2 | 12,221 | 3,517 | 15,738 | ||
2012 | H1 | 16,066 | 5,160 | 21,226 | 30,996 |
H2 | 6,340 | 3,430 | 9,770 | ||
2013 | H1 | 11,136 | 4,363 | 15,499 | 30,999 |
H2 | 11,163 | 4,337 | 15,500 | ||
2014 | H1 | 10,756 | 4,354 | 15,110 | 30,611 |
H2 | 12,036 | 3,465 | 15,501 |
In 2014, the proportion of M/HRE to total allocations was 11.8%. This compares to 11.7% for 2013 and 12.5% for 2012, the first year that the quotas were split in this way.
There is once again no reflection in the quota allocations, or in the system as a whole, of the findings of the recent WTO case against China concerning export quotas and tariffs. The WTO ruled that the export-control system for rare earths (and other metals) is at odds with the trade rules of the WTO. The case in the latter stages of the appeals process.

Dear Sir,
would it be possible to have figures of Rare earth products from Japan
regards
M.Purandhar
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