Rare earth Photo:VCG

 

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Thursday that it is an internationally accepted practice to establish an import and export archives for certain bulk commodities.

The comments came after MOFCOM announced on Tuesday revisions to a list of bulk commodities whose imports and exports should be reported for statistical purpose, with rare earths featuring on the list for the first time .
 
It is an internationally accepted practice to establish an import and export archives and statistical investigation and information release system for certain bulk products, He Yadong, spokesperson of MOFCOM said at a press conference on Thursday. 

By counting information related to the import and export of goods, it helps to better understand the import and export status of bulk products and analyze and judge trends in real time, he added. 

He said that since 2008, China has implemented an import reporting system for a number of bulk agricultural products, a system that has been operating effectively for over a decade, adding that corporate trade processes and customs clearance time won't be affected. 

According to a circular, merchants need to immediately report shipments, amount and time of exports of bulk commodities that are on the list. Related import and export commerce chambers are responsible for collecting and analyzing the data, which will be reported to MOFCOM.

He said the revisions only adjust the scope of statistical commodities and does not change the current reporting system. 

The current management measures for related commodities remains unchanged, as does the business trade process, customs clearance conditions will be unaffected. At the same time, during the process of accepting statistical surveys and applying for relevant licenses, companies do not need to duplicate the same information during communication with regulators, he said. 

Global Times