According to the General Administration of Customs, the import volume of rare earth metal ores in August 2023 was 6,396 mt, up 94% YoY and 72% WoW. Imports totaled 47,973 mt from January to April, a year-on-year decrease of 7%.
The import volume of unlisted rare earth oxides (REO) in August 2023 was 3,848 mt, up 158% YoY but down 19% WoW. The imports totaled 30,608 mt from January to August 2023, a year-on-year increase of 448%. Since the end of August, Myanmar’s customs closure cut down imports, and some mines in the Banwa area were even backfilled and buried. Last week, the customs closure was finally released. Rare earth imports from Myanmar are expected to continue to drop in September.
In August, China imported 778 mt of mixed rare earth carbonate, a year-on-year increase of 577% and a week-on-week decrease of 74%; from January to August 2023, the cumulative import volume was 10,409 mt, up 616% YoY.
