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Korea's
imports of rare earth materials from China plunged in August as Seoul
reduced its reliance on the neighboring country by importing more from
Japan, customs data showed Monday.
According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, Korea imported a
total of 61 tons of rare earth materials from China last month, down
74.3 percent from a year earlier. It was also down 60.6 percent from
July.
The decline was offset by increased imports from Japan. South Korea
purchased 65 tons of such materials from Japan last month, more than a
two-fold rise from the 31 tons tallied a year earlier. The figure also
increased 29.8 percent from the previous month.
Imports of such materials from France also spiked to 46 tons from 39
tons a year earlier. In July, South Korea purchased just 7 tons from the
European country.
Rare earth materials such as scandium and yttrium are mostly used in
hybrid and electric vehicles, liquid crystal displays and other
high-tech devices. South Korea has previously depended heavily on China
for such materials.
Source:
Korea Times |
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