Provisional trade ministry data shows the tonnage of tin checked prior to export from Indonesia dropped sharply to 7,013 tonnes in May, following exports of over 9,000 tonnes in each of the previous two months. May shipments were 4.4% down on the May 2010 level. However the year-to-date tonnage of 39,289 tonnes in the first five months of this year is 11.5% higher than in the corresponding period of 2010.
“Tin production is increasing but exporters are retaining it in their warehouse, just to wait for better prices in the future,” Junaedi, the head of the export of mining products at the ministry, told Reuters. “They are now waiting and seeing for price developments,” he added. “It is not because of decreasing production.” There are 34 registered tin exporters in Indonesia, but only 22 exporters were active in May, he noted.
