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Govt considers banning tin ingot exports, experts unconvinced
The Investment Ministry is mulling over plans to restrict shipments of tin ingots in an effort to attract investment in processing it at home, but experts question whether an export ban could actually have a positive impact on the downstreaming of metal products
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A worker works at a ferronickel smelter owned by PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) in Pomalaa, Central Sulawesi, in May 2019. (MIND.ID/-)
T
he Investment Ministry is mulling over plans to restrict shipments of tin ingots in an effort to attract investment in processing it at home, but experts question whether an export ban could actually have a positive impact on the downstreaming of metal products.
The country has a similar policy for nickel ore. However, unlike nickel, Indonesia already exports high-purity refined tin, having banned exports of tin ore since late 2014. The country exports tin bars, solder bar and wires, Trade Ministry data show.
Djoko Widajatno, executive director of the Indonesia Mining Association (IMA), said the government needed to ensure that regulations were in place to accommodate downstream industry development, as well as adequate infrastructure and demand.
Annual tin production has increased from 900 to 3,500 tonnes in the past 10 years, Djoko noted, while only 5 percent of production was absorbed by the domestic industry.
Read also: Govt plans tin royalty hike, ingot export ban
“There’s a huge gap between supply and demand [...] the government must ensure the domestic market is ready to absorb the products,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The ban is part of the government’s broader plan to reserve mineral resources like nickel, tin, copper and bauxite for domestic processing, as well as to export higher value-added products instead of just shipping cheap raw materials.
