China’s exports of rare earths in August rose 12.1% from the prior month, but they stayed well below the year-to-date monthly average, customs data showed on Tuesday.
The world’s largest rare earth producer shipped out 4,735 metric tons of the group of 17 minerals essential to electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence technology, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.
That was up from 4,224 tons in July.
The August volume, however, was 18.2% lower than 5,792 tons sold in the same month in 2025 and was well below the monthly average of 4,829 tons for the first eight months of the year.
Some Chinese rare earth suppliers are declining to ship to the U.S. for fear of repercussions from Beijing, three sources said, underscoring how access to the materials remains an issue for the U.S. weeks before President Xi Jinping visits Washington.
A fuller breakdown, including exports of rare earth magnets will be released on September 20.
In the first eight months of 2026, rare earths exports totaled 39,441 tons, falling 11.1% year-on-year, deepening from an annual fall of 10% between January and July.
But the corresponding dollar value over January-August surged by 53.5% from the same period the year before.
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis JacksonEditing by Shri Navaratnam)
