The tin bar exports in January last year reached 7,334.65 tons worth 185.26 million US dollars.
"The weather was unfavorable, and the west wind caused many tin carrying ships to stop operating, while the land reserves have also been depleting," member of the Indonesian Tin Committee Rudy Irawan said in Jakarta Thursday.
However, he said, this January exports were still normal.
And he said that it would have been even better if the tin bar exports could be lowered to 4,500 tons to a maximum of 5,000 tons on each month.
"We should not go after volume, but added value and profit rates," he said.
Early this year Deputy Minister of Trae Bayu Krisnamurthi also said that the government is considering to stop increasing tin bar exports to control the exploitation of mining products and its impact on the environment.
He said the government will improve its policy on mining commodity trade which had been particularly used as raw material of the metal coating and welding.
According to the Ministry of Trade, tin bar exports in January 2012 mostly went to Singapore (3,559.80 tons), following Malaysia (921.20 tons) and China (238.41 tons).
Indonesia`s tin bars had also been exported to South Korea, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan, India, Switzerland, Turkey, and Thailand.
(M035/H-NG)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
