Export quota for rare earths to stay the same (2)

Rising prices last year forced many manufacturers to switch to other materials or seek new markets for rare earths.

Mining operations have started in countries that had not been exporting rare earths.

Lynas Corp, a mining company in Australia, is expected to begin yielding 22,000 tons of rare earths annually by late 2013.

Molycorp in the United States said it has the ability to produce 40,000 tons of rare earths a year.

Miners in India and Russia are also providing new resources.

Liu said the price of some rare earth products has fluctuated wildly over the past two years.

Du Shuaibing, an analyst at Baichuan Information, which focuses on analyzing the market for raw materials, said price and demand will be higher in 2013 as the global economy improves.

"The price will be higher than this year, but supply will still exceed demand," Du said.

Fluctuating prices are driving potential buyers away, he said.

"If they don't have faith in the price, there will be no deals, no demand," he said.

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