There is some possibility of a reduction in sales by Indonesian tin producers, but details and timing remain to be decided. Following an earlier meeting on 27 February involving 25 smelters organised by Bangka-Belitung Governor Rustam Effendi, a working group recommended a 30% reduction in exports for two months to boost prices to $20,000/tonne, the Governor told Bloomberg last Friday, adding that the volumes that could be shipped would be based on companies’ export performance in 2014.
Smelters and Bangka administration will hold a further meeting to discuss the recommendation, Yan Megawandi, Bangka head of development planning agency, and working group member said, although the date of that meeting has not been fixed. Refined Bangka Tin, biggest private tin smelter, welcomed the proposal if it is based annual business plans and if the curb can boost prices by 20%, CEO Petrus Tjandra said. There was no immediate public comment from state tin company PT Timah.
Preliminary data released by the trade ministry showed that February tin shipments amounted to 5,986 tonnes, virtually unchanged compared to February 2014 exports of 5,998 tonnes. The data is based on pre-shipment checks made by surveying companies. The 12-month rolling total of exports using this series is just over 78,000 tonnes.
