Overseas buyers may have stockpiled strategically important rare earths ahead of Beijing’s export controls on the critical minerals amid China-US trade tensions and reliance on Chinese suppliers, data released by Beijing showed.
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The export volume of rare earth elements – essential for consumer electronics, electric vehicles and defence systems – reached a nine-month high of 5,600 tonnes in March, up 20.3 per cent year on year. In April, sales were down but still rose 4.8 per cent year-on-year, to 4,785 tonnes.
Specifically, outbound shipments of niche rare earth metals, including metallic scandium and metallic yttrium, increased by 20.9 per cent year on year in April to 525.5 tonnes, up 39.9 per cent from March.
Shipments of dysprosium oxide, critical for the metal used in nuclear reactor control rods, increased by 24.1 per cent from a year earlier to 5.16 tonnes.
Rare earths consist of 17 elements. On April 4, Beijing added seven of these – samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium – to its export control list after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs” two days earlier.
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Chinese authorities have not disclosed details about overseas rare earth sales.