Indonesia Postponed the Issuance of Tin Export Permit

SHANGHAI, Jan 21 - Indonesia, the world's second-largest tin producer, has reportedly delayed the issuance of tin export permits, sparking concerns in the market.

A senior official in charge of energy affairs said on Thursday that Indonesia's delay in issuing tin export permits was due to internal process problems and there was no timetable for when the issue would be resolved.

According to the customs, China’s refined tin imports in December 2021 were 306 mt, down 69.88% MoM and 79.14% YoY; refined tin exports in December were 438 mt, down 36.98% MoM and up 12.31% YoY. China became a net tin exporter in December, with net exports of 132 mt.

Looking at imports by country, the significant decrease in imports in December was mainly due to a large decrease in the number of imports from Indonesia. In December, imports from Indonesia totalled 231 mt, a 76.11% decrease compared to November. As imports from Indonesia accounted for a larger share of total domestic imports, the large decrease of supplies from the country directly caused a significant decrease in China imports in December.