Indonesia's PT Timah cuts tin production and delays exports on COVID-19 impact

SHANGHAI, Mar 19 (SMM) – Indonesia’s PT Timah, the world’ second-largest tin producer, planned to reduce its monthly production by 20-30% and postpone exports as the coronavirus outbreak took a toll on global demand. 

“Amid the coronavirus conditions many companies have stopped production and this has an impact on the demand and prices,” said the company’s CEO Riza Pahlevi in a written statement on March 17. 

SMM learned that tin production at PT Timah was close to 80,000 mt in 2019, which means that the amount of its upcoming output cut could be less than 2,000 mt per month. As the duration of the cutback remains unclear, it is estimated to provide limited support to global tin prices. 

On the morning of Thursday March 19, the most-liquid tin contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slumped to its daily limit after opening as US stock market plunged again and raised worries about a virus-related recession. Three-month LME tin slumped to its lowest since January 2016 at $13,200 on Wednesday. 

Indonesia's refined tin exports in 2019-2020 (unit: mt)

According to data released by the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, Indonesia exported 7,464.18 mt of refined tin in February, up 34% from a year earlier and up 4.6% from a month ago. 

Indonesia’s exports of refined tin stood at 7,137.58 mt in January, up 69% on the month and up 73% on the year.