Indonesia shipped less than 4,000 tonnes of tin in December, according to preliminary estimates from the Trade Ministry. Data released today shows that 3,805.5 tonnes of metal was checked for export last month by surveying companies under the ministry’s export licencing scheme. The total for 2008 was 88,162 tonnes. There is no comparable annual total for the previous year, as the licencing scheme only started in late February 2007.
The volume was down 13% from November, when 4,381 tonnes were checked. Seven smelters exported tin in December to Singapore and Malaysia, an official at the trade ministry told Reuters. "Exports were still slow because prices have not recovered. They only met existing shipment contracts," the official said.
Of the annual total, the great majority of tin (75,703 tonnes) was trans-shipped via Singapore. The main direct destinations identified in the trade ministry figures were Malaysia (7,903 tonnes), Japan (1,265 tonnes) and South Korea (1,346 tonnes).
