China’s rare earth exports leap in March after coronavirus-hit January, February – by Tom Daly (Reuters U.S. – April 14, 2020)

https://www.reuters.com/

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s rare earth exports rose 19.2% year-on-year in March, customs data showed on Tuesday, hitting their highest since at least 2014 as a backlog of product was shipped, helping the industry rebound from a January-February slump due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Exports totalled 5,551.4 tonnes last month, the General Administration of Customs said, up from 4,659 tonnes a year earlier. The March number exceeded exports in January and February 2020 combined and was the highest monthly total in records on the customs website going back to June 2014.

China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earth materials, a group of 17 minerals prized for their use in consumer electronics and sophisticated military equipment.

For the first quarter overall, China’s rare earth exports were down 2.3% year-on-year at 11,040.6 tonnes.

Its output slowed sharply due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 3,300 people in the country, with exports in January and February combined down 17.3% from a year earlier amid production shutdowns and transportation curbs.

For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-trade-rareearths/chinas-rare-earth-exports-leap-in-march-after-coronavirus-hit-january-february-idUSKCN21W0DA