Provisional data released by the trade ministry today shows a 15% fall in the tonnage of tin checked prior to export compared to March, although the April volume of 7,853 tonnes was still 4.9% higher than in April last year. Cumulative tonnage in January-April amounts to 34,658tonnes, up 16.3% year-on-year.
The boom in shipments so far this year is at odds with a survey of Indonesian industry sources and analysts published by Bloomberg at the start of this week, which gave a median estimate of annual sales of 80,000 tonnes. Companies surveyed felt that production will be reduced in the rest of the year in response to lower prices and tighter quality requirements due to come into effect under new export regulations in July. One company, PT DS Jaya Abadi, whose plant in Bangka-Belitung province supplies about 3,600 tonnes of ingots a year, is already cutting output, said Operations Director Muhammad Buntar Gunawan. Only 15 to 20 smelters will be able meet the new regulations on tin purity said Hidayat Arsani, president of the country’s 30-member tin mining association. 35 companies are currently licensed to export tin by the trade ministry.
