Preliminary data from Indonesia’s trade ministry confirmed that the tonnage of tin checked by surveyors prior to shipment fell significantly last month. Figures released to Reuters yesterday showed a total volume of to 6,329.92 tonnes, down by 24% on June and by 17% compared to July 2014. The shipments included 6,315.14 tonnes of ingots and 14.77 tonnes of solder, the ministry statement added.
For the last three months the rolling 12-month total of shipments has been around 73,000 tonnes, the lowest figures on record since the current export licensing system was established in 2007. However the latest month’s figure is still surprisingly high in relation to the reported sales made through the ICDX in July, which only amounted to 4,220 tonnes. Since September 2013 all tin ingot export sales have been required by law to go through the exchange. No sales have been reported through ICDX since 15 July and volumes in August are also expected to be very low as producers wait for the issue of new documentation from the energy and resources and trade ministries in line with the latest export regulation which took effect from 1 August.
