November 22, 2008

Indonesian plan to restrict tin production may affect global market

ANTARA News reported that Indonesian plan to restrict its tin production if realized it will have an impact on the global tin market as research conducted by many institutions has shown global tin production is lower than demand.

Mr Abrun Abubakar corporate secretary of PT Timah Tbk said that "We still do not know what the impact will be on PT Timah Tbk performance if the government restricts the country tin production starting in 2009."

Mr Abubakar said that "Neither do we know what PT Timah production ceiling will be. As far as Mr Abrun Abubakar know a regulation restricting Indonesia tin production has not yet been issued."

Mr Simon Sembiring Director General of Mineral, Coal and Geothermal Energy at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry of Indonesia said recently the government planned to slash the country tin production by 90,000 to 100,000 tonne per year. He added that "If we produce and export large quantities of tin its prices can fall in the global market".

The Indonesian government is expected to restrict the country tin production starting in 2009 to control global tin prices. Indonesia is the world biggest tin exporter and second biggest tin producer.