Coal miners are worried about planned production limit

Indonesian coal producers say that the government?s plan to restrict production will hurt their operations, which are now seriously undermined by the fall in the prices of the fuel commodity, Kotan daily reported Thursday.

They, therefore, call on the government to consult first with them if it intends to limit production so that the new policy would not hurt the operation of the country?s coal producers.

?The government and coal producers have different perception on coal production. They should therefore sit together to minimize the difference,? Bob Kamandanu, the chairman of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (ICMA), said.

He said that the plan to limit production would be supported by coal miners if it would be able to help push up coal prices which have been under pressure due to decline in the demand and oversupply situation. ?But the government needs to talk with coal miners before imposing the policy,? he added.

Many coal miners increased their exports to offset the decline in the prices.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the association of coal suppliers (Aspebindo), Ekawahyu Kasih, said that the production limitation should not be imposed on small miners because the restriction would seriously hurt their operations.

He suggested the government to impose the production limitation to coal miners whose production exceeds 1.5 million tons a year. (*)