On June 29, China announced “Rare Earth Management Regulations” which stipulate comprehensive state supervision and control over the production and sales of rare earth products. China is currently the world’s leading manufacturer of rare earth metals, holding about 70 percent of the global reserves.
Beijing issued a production quota for Chinese companies – 135,000 tons in the first half of 2024, a 12.5 percent year-on-year increase. Market demand for rare earths did not go up as Beijing expected, however, and price dropped dramatically as a result of the government-mandated increase in rare earth production. The rare earth price index published by the China Rare Earth Industry Association on July 18 dropped by about 20 percent compared to late July 2023.
As a result of oversupply in the rare earth markets, all major Chinese rare earth producers saw significant declines in their profits, in the first quarter of this year. Northern Rare Earth’s net profit fell by 94 percent year-on-year, China Rare Earth reported a loss of approximately 289 million yuan (US$ 40 million), Guangdong Rising Nonferrous Metals a loss of 304 million yuan, and Shenghe Resources a loss of 216 million yuan.
Nikkei Asia pointed out that, in recent years, the CCP has continuously increased the production quotas for rare earth metals. In 2023, Beijing increased the quotas threefold, bringing the annual total to 255,000 tons, a 21 percent increase compared to 2022. Many believe this year’s quotas will go even higher. It seems that Beijing wants to use such increasing quotes to maintain its dominant position in rare earth production and export volume so that it can use rare earths as a bargaining chip in diplomatic negotiations.
Meanwhile, other countries are trying to reduce the reliance on China’s production of rare earths. The United States has expanded domestic rare earth production, and many countries have intensified local efforts to identify domestic rare earth deposits.
Source: Epoch Times, July 19, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/7/19/n14293824.htm