New Indonesian Tin export rules may lead to reduced exports in November

JAKARTA (Scrap Monster): According to the new export rules in Indonesia, which comes into effect on Nov 1^st, tin exporters in the country are required to obtain clean and clear (CnC) certification for their mining licenses from the Ministry of Trade.

As per new regulations, companies with CnC certificates will only be issued long-term export license and permitted to export out of the country. Reports indicate that only three Indonesian tin firms have obtained certificates so far. Consequently, tin exports may suffer badly from next month onwards. The delay in certification could lead to sharp drop in tin exports during the month of November, industry sources indicated.

The certification requirement is considered to be part of the trade regulation 33/2015 which took effect in August. As a result of the regulations, Indonesia recorded zero tin exports during August this year. However, exports recovered gradually during September and October, as companies were granted 6 months temporary export grant by the Indonesian authorities. A total of 18 exporters including state-owned PT Timah and other leading private smelters had obtained temporary export licenses. The names of the three companies who have obtained full export license have not been made public. Sources indicate that PT Timah has achieved clearance for over 50% of its mining licenses.

Meantime, preliminary figures released by Indonesian Trade Ministry indicate that 6,391.74 tonnes of tin was checked by surveyor companies prior to export in September alone. This was up by 17.5% when compared with September 2014. Also, exports during the nine-month period from January to September this year amounted to 52,079 tonnes, based on the pre-shipment checks made by surveying companies. The cumulative exports during this period were down sharply by over 10% when matched with the corresponding nine-month period in 2014.