Japan Rare Earth Import Rises by 49.5% in February

Japanese rare earth import increased by 49.5% to 386 tonnes in February from a year earlier, according to Ministry of Finance. The lower import was apparently due to delay of issuance of export license by Chinese government. The import unit value increased by 74.9% to average 2,619 yen per kilogram under tight supply. Rare earth demand expands for neodymium-iron-boron used for automobile motor and hard disc drive while rare earth supply is limited when the world largest supply country of China accelerates the strict export control. China reduced the export quota by 10% to 45,000 tonnes in 2006 from 2005. The government issued 19,500 tonnes of export license as first batch for 2007. China is expected to issue the second license in summer but the annual quota could decrease 10% from 2006. Japanese tantalum import increased by 85.7% to 156 tonnes in February from a year earlier under firm demand for powder used for condenser. The import decreased for indium used for flat panel display, cerium used for glass polishing and lithium used for material of accumulator. For those materials the buyers reduced the purchase volume after peak of year end season. Japanese titanium import increased to 2.3 times at 472 tonnes in February from a year earlier under worldwide tight supply. The vanadium import increased to 4.5 times. The import also kept high level for tungsten, bismuth and antimony. Japanese average import unit price was high for cobalt and antimony under high international market while the price increased for lithium and tantalum.