Indonesia Tin Exports Fall for First Time in 3 Months

Refined tin shipments from Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter, declined last month for the first time Since October as bad weather disrupted production, the Ministry of Trade said. 

Overseas sales dropped 14 percent to 7,722 metric tons last month from 8,986 tons in November, Djunaedi, head of mining exports at the ministry said. Exports were 8,508 tons in December 2009. 

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy exported 92,487 tons of tin last year, a 7 percent decline from 99,287 tons in 2009, Djunaedi said by telephone from Jakarta today. 

Falling supplies may help support the price of the metal used in soldering and packaging, which has fallen 4.2 percent from a record high of $27,350 a ton on Nov. 9. Tin for three- month delivery on the London Metal Exchange slid 0.9 percent to $26,210 a ton at 4:24 p.m. Jakarta time. 

Indonesia shipped the metal to nine countries in December including to Singapore, Japan and the Netherland. Exports to Singapore were 6,401 tons, or 82 percent of total, the trade ministry data showed. 

Tin output in the country was estimated to have fallen 25 percent to 78,965 tons last year, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said Dec. 31. Production may pick up to 90,000 tons this year as a recovery in the global economy boosts demand for the metal, Bambang Setiawan, director general of coal and minerals at the ministry, said at the time. Source: Bloomberg