The Indonesian government plans to add tin bars to the growing list of commodities that it will ban for export as part of an ambitious effort to have more of these resources processed domestically.
A similar ban that was imposed in 2020 for nickel has attracted billions of dollars of foreign investment, particularly from China, to set up refining facilities. Indonesia is now on track to overtake China in nickel processing before 2025.
As for the new restrictions on tin bars (Indonesia already banned the export of raw tin ore in 2014), Chinese companies will be hardest hit since China imports more than any other country. Unsurprisingly, many of those Chinese companies are now buying up as many tin bars as they can before the export ban goes into effect.
Indonesian officials say the new requirements to process commodities domestically prior to export are paying off. They expect exports to increase from $232 billion last year to $300 billion by 2025.
SUGGESTED READING:
- Reuters: Explainer: What is Indonesia’s proposed tin export ban about? by Fransiska Nangoy and Bernadette Christina
- Reuters: Indonesia tells tin industry to be prepared for export ban by Fransiska Nangoy
