CHINA is playing an increasingly important role in silver trading worldwide since becoming a major exporter of the precious metal.

　　The first Annual China Silver Conference, in Hohhot, capital of North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, heard that the precious metal was in short supply.

　　“As for the world silver market, the question yet to be answered is whether the Chinese Government will continue to sell its silver reserves abroad,” said Jaime Lomelin, president of Industrias Penoles, the world largest silver production enterprise based in Mexico.

　　He explained that the silver supply through traditional channels had failed to meet manufacturers’ demand for 12 years. Last year the shortage was met from government reserves, particularly those of the United States and China, he said.

　　According to estimates by the Washington-based Gold Fields Mineral Services, China produced 64 million of the total 86 million ounces of silver traded last year by governments on the global market.

　　China started to export silver in the form of raw materials after January 2000, when it deregulated the precious metal. Many silver producers have since been licensed for external trade and silver exporters now even enjoy tax rebates, according to Liu Shengyu, general manager of China National Pearl Diamond Gem and Jewelry Import and Export Corporation.

　　He said that last year China set the silver export quota at 1,180 tons, much higher than the 200 tons for the previous year. The figure will rise to a new high this year.

　　(Xinhua)