China’s exports of rare earth minerals rose 6% in 2024, customs data showed on Monday, as sputtering economic growth limited domestic demand.
The world’s largest producer of rare earths last year shipped 55,431 metric tons of 17 minerals used in the making of products ranging from electric vehicles to consumer electronics, General Administration of Customs data showed.
That was the highest volume since Reuters’ records back to 2014, but the total value of the exports slumped 36% to $488.8 million, the data showed, reflecting falling prices last year amid ample supply.
The average spot price of praseodymium oxide in China, for example, fell 26% in 2024, following a drop of 37% in 2023, according to data from information provider Shanghai Metals Market (SMM).
China exported 3,326 tons of rare earth minerals in December, down from 4,416 tons in November and 3,439 tons in December 2023.
Imports
China’s rare earth imports last month dropped 41.1% from a year earlier to 9,645 tons, producing a 2024 total of 132,931 tons, down 24.4% from 2023.
Analysts say the 2024 fall was mainly due to reduced supplies from the United States and Myanmar, the other two major producers of rare earths.
An armed group fighting Myanmar’s military regime said last October that it had taken control of a mining hub that is a major supplier of rare earth oxides to China, disrupting shipments.
Imports from the U.S. and Myanmar slipped by 14.6% and 31.6% year-on-year, respectively, in the first 11 months of the year, China’s customs data showed.
