Refined tin shipments from Indonesia, the world’s top exporter, fell 4.9% in March compared to a year ago, mostly due to heavy rainfall, a trade ministry official told Reuters. The tonnage of tin metal checked prior to shipment in March was 8,608 tonnes, compared to 9,052 tonnes a year earlier. The March total was 3.4% greater than the total checked in February.
The total quantity of tin checked by surveying companies for the trade ministry in the first quarter was 22,313 tonnes, 1.1% lower than the corresponding figure for Q1 2011 and 2.8% lower than the final reported official customs figure of 22,955 for the corresponding period of last year. Official export figures are usually released about three months after the preliminary data. The final official export total for 2011 was 97,402 tonnes (compared to the preliminary checked total of 96,020 tonnes).
