As LME and ICDX tin prices have fallen to new lows this week, the proposal by Bangka Belitung Governor Rustam Effendi to halt sales for two months or longer is making little headway, according to reports by Bloomberg and Reuters today. The governor first raised the idea last November, but state tin company PT Timah and private smelters have expressed doubts about the plan and a meeting date to discuss it has yet to be set.
Bloomberg reported that the target is to push the price back up to $20,000/tonne. “We want to get input from the industry,” Effendi told reporters. “We could try to further limit exports, or we agree to halt shipments to prop up prices. The moratorium will raise our bargaining power, so that the price doesn’t fall further.”
PT Timah corporate secretary Agung Nugroho told Reuters that it would not back such a plan, and both he and another senior industry official contacted by Reuters were sceptical that if implemented, it would have the desired effect. “It might happen but it will not be successful,” Nugroho said. The Indonesian Association of Tin Exporters (AETI) said that the discussions were ongoing. Some members had agreed to the export plan, but many were still undecided, association president Jabin Sufianto said.
Earlier this week the trade ministry provisionally reported that tin exports in January amounted to 6,770 tonnes, up by 47% compared to January 2014, based on pre-shipment checks made by surveyors. The January total comprised 6,765 tonnes of refined tin ingot and 5 tonnes of solder.
