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We won't make it: Industries cast doubt on bauxite-export ban in mid-2023
Experts and businesses warn that local downstream industries were unprepared for the government’s plan to ban bauxite exports starting in June 2023, stressing that forcing such a measure may backfire against the country’s mission to support local added-value manufacturing.
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The Tayan bauxite mine in Sanggau, West Kalimantan, operated by state-owned metal miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam). (Antam/Antam)
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xperts and businesses warn that local downstream industries were unprepared for government’s plan to ban bauxite exports starting in June 2023, stressing that forcing such a measure may backfire against the country’s mission to support local added-value manufacturing.
Officially announced by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Wednesday, the export prohibition will be imposed on washed-bauxite products, a tad more highly valued than raw bauxite, which the country had stopped exporting for many years.
The decision also reaffirms what has been underlined in 2020 through the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM) regulation, stipulating that miners can only export their washed bauxite no later than June 10, 2023.
Jokowi is adamant that the ban ensures bauxite to be processed and refined domestically prior to being shipped overseas, therefore raising its export value and eventually benefiting the country.
Following the ban, he estimates annual state revenue from the bauxite industry would jump by twofold to about US$3.97 billion (Rp 62 trillion).
“The government will remain consistent in pushing for local downstream industry,” Jokowi told reporters during a press conference in the state palace, on Wednesday.
Read also: Going heavy on metals: Jokowi vows to keep minerals at home
