Government issues regulations on tin exports

Government has issued regulations limiting refined tin exports in an effort to curb unchecked exports of the commodity used in electronics, a trade ministry official said on Tuesday.

Under the regulation signed by Minister of Trade Mari Pengestu on Tuesday, refined tin exports should be carried out by exporters, which have been registered in the trade ministry.

Diah Maulida, director general of international trade at the ministry, said the government will only allow exports of refined tin by smelters that have a mining permit or those who team up with mining permit holders.

"We have banned exports of tin ore since 2002, so exports are only allowed for refined tin which so far have no regulation to control them," Maulida told a news conference.

"After seeing the fact in the (tin-producing) area, exports of refined tin have led to uncontrolled tin mining which has caused environmental problems. So, we need to regulate this," she added.

She said exporters will only be allowed to sell refined tin with a minimum purity of 99.85 percent after they have provided proof of paying a royalty to the government. (*)