China Announced The Total Quota for Rare Earth Exports in First-Half 2012 Is 25,000 Tons

China has announced the total quota for rare earth exports in first-half 2012 is 25,000 tons. This is similar to the quota in 2011, said industry sources. However, a new regulation set for the 2012 rare earth export quota divides total exports into light and heavy rare earth. Heavy rare earth exports can only account for less than 15%, which Digitimes Research believes will impact the production of phosphor and automobile motor magnets. In addition to setting quotas, the China government also added tariffs related to rare earth exports. This includes tariffs for some rare earth elements and compounds. In addition, the government increased rare earth resource tax by more than 10 times. The growing limitations and tariffs have been causing the price of rare earth to hike. The price of rare earth used in phosphor increased by 3-7 times from January 2010 to January 2012. The price increase of rare earth has been causing the price of phosphorus powder to increase as well. In 2011, the price of phosphorus powder exceeded the cost of fluorescent lamps in 2010. This pushed some firms to raise price and some to turn to LED lighting production. Various countries have been reevaluating policies to combat price increase of rare earths. Japan currently has three rare earth policies such as to develop rare earths outside of China, recycle all rare earths used in products, and develop substitutes. In 2012, Japan has signed rare earth development agreement with the governments of India and Vietnam. Japan has also initiated the plan to recycle rare earths from fluorescent lamps while develop motor-use magnets and LED phosphor without rare earth contents. Industry sources believe the rare earth quota in first-half 2012 will account for 80% of the entire quota for the year. Hence the industry has predicted the quota for second-half 2012 to be around 6,000 tons. This means the total rare earth export quota in China in 2012 will be 31,000 tons. Source: www.digitimes.com