China has raised its export quota for rare earths for the first time since records began six years ago, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce.
China controls 97 per cent of the global supply of rare earths, essential elements in a variety of manufacturing processes. It has used export quotas to prop up prices and restrict global supply, drawing protests from trading partners.
The export quota will increase just 3 per cent from 30,246 tonnes in 2011 to 31,130 tonnes in 2012, but it reverses six years of sustained cuts, which has seen the export quota more than halve from 65,609 tonnes in 2005.
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