China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday announced the first round of rare earth export quotas for 2013.

The first batch of quotas totals 15,501 tonnes, about half the quota set for all of 2012, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Of the total, 13,563 tonnes are allocated for light rare earths, while 1,938 tonnes are for medium and heavy rare earth metals, it said.

Twenty-four companies will share the quota, including Inner Mongolia's Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co., the country's largest rare earth producer.

As the world's largest rare earths supplier, China serves more than 90 percent of the world's demand for rare earths, a group of 17 elements that are widely used in high-tech products ranging from flat-screen TVs to lasers and hybrid cars.

However, the country holds only 23 percent of the world's rare earth reserves, and decades of excessive exploitation have greatly damaged the environment.

To curb environmental degradation and protect the resources, China has implemented a range of policies, including output caps, export quotas, stricter emissions standards and high resource taxes.