Indonesian tin exports from February to September amounted to 61,167 tonnes, according to a trade ministry report quoted by Bloomberg News today. The preliminary data is based on surveyors’ reports linked to the new export licencing system brought in February and is not comparable with previously published official trade figures. September exports (or the tonnage of metal surveyed prior to export) were 9,415 tonnes, down from 11,500 tonnes in the previous month.
During the eight months to end-September, PT Timah, Indonesia’s biggest tin producer, exported 35,767 tonnes, the report showed. PT Koba Tin, the second largest, exported 4,483 tons, according to the report. The balance of some 20,900 tonnes was accounted for by six independent smelters, who are believed to have been shipping out old stocks before the proposed introduction of export quotas.
PT Timah has reduced its production recently, although it will have two new furnaces to treat low grade slags in operation by next January.
