Export quota tender submitted via www.ec.com.cn. 61 companies participated in the tender and each company could submit only one tender. The minimum tender bid was 100 tonnes, and the maximum was reckoned according to the average annual amount of export of the company in 2006-2007: max. 43.5% of the average annual amount of export for the company with at least 1,000 tonnes in 2006-2007, and max. 400 tonnes for those with less than 1,000 tonnes. Quota allocation was based on the pricing of the bid. A 10% of the bidding price would be collected before 28.02.2009 as a quarantee.