Indonesia may ban exports of bauxite, copper ore and tin in a bid to reduce the nation's dependence on raw commodities, it has been revealed.
President Joko Widodo said at the Indonesian central bank's annual meeting that restrictions could come into effect in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively, news site Tempo.co reported.
Unprocessed tin exports have already been banned for almost three years, with the metal only permitted to be sold in its unrefined form. However, this new move would see more stringent restrictions in the hope of improving Indonesia's trade balance and attracting investment.
As a result of the news, MetalMiner Insights reported that tin prices had surged by 6.6 per cent per metric ton month-on-month.
At the start of 2020, Indonesia implemented a ban on nickel ore exports to improve development of domestic smelters. These restrictions are now subject to a World Trade Organization complaint by the EU, which claims they are damaging the stainless steel production industry.
Indonesia has traditionally been a major exporter of metal ores, sending much of its wares to countries such as China and Japan.