The government will increase exploration and production quotas for rare earth companies by 10 percent this year to bring output in line with the sector's capacity, a senior official said.

Huang Libin, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, gave the figure during Thursday's half-year briefing.

The increase is also a response to rapid industrial development in the country, including rare earth-based new materials and environmental protection and conservation products, which are spurring longer-term demand for rare earths, he said.