A significant rebound in stockpiling demand from key consumer countries boosted Chinese rare earth exports during January-February after declines in 2019-20. China's total shipments during January-February rose to 7,068t from 5,489t in the same period last year, according to customs data. February deliveries of 3,045t fell by 24pc from 4,023t in January, as spot buying activity was limited by logistical bottlenecks during the country's lunar new year holiday in the middle of February. Shipments to Japan and the US, China's top two export destinations that typically account for over half of China's total rare earth exports, each rose by double-digit figures on the year as stockpiling demand for rare earths from these countries recovered steadily from the pandemic.
Demand from some European countries such as the Netherlands, Italy and Spain weakened on the year while purchases from France and Poland rose significantly, led by a resurgence of policy-driven electric vehicle sales from the second half of the year. China's rare earth shipments to Brazil saw the largest increase during January-February, rising to 110t from 3t. Stronger consumer demand fuelled rare earth consumption across buyers from India and Vietnam in the first two months of this year.