BEIJING, Nov 7 (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry on Tuesday said it will require traders of crude oil, iron ore, copper concentrate and potash, which are subject to import licences, to submit real-time information on shipments as part of efforts to stabilize trade.
It will also require exporters of rare earths to submit information under the new rules effective from Oct. 31 this year for two years.
The goal is to "promptly and accurately grasp and scientifically judge the import and export status and trends of bulk products, guide foreign trade operators to import and export in an orderly manner, reduce blindness, provide a basis for risk avoidance, and do a solid job in stabilizing foreign trade", the ministry said in a document on its website.
Buyers and sellers of the newly-added products will be required to provide real-time information on shipments, quantity and arrival times, the document added.
Reporting rules are already in place for a range of agricultural commodities, including soybeans, soymeal, milk powder and meat.
It was not immediately clear to what extent the rules would impact trade.
"I do not think the customs clearing pace will be much affected much by this," said Cheng Peng, a Beijing-based iron ore analyst at Sinosteel futures.
"Many other agriculture products have already been on the list, indicating that the system should be relatively mature," Peng added.
However, another analyst, on the condition of anonymity, said the data gathering could be a first step before the government takes greater control of trade in key commodities.
Beijing
said
last Friday it would promote "high-quality development" in the rare earths industry, putting the strategic mineral resources under the spotlight again.
In
July
, China had unveiled export restrictions on gallium and germanium, and in
October
another one for some graphite products, sparking concerns that rare earths might be next. (Reporting by Amy Lv, Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Varun H K)
