Govt may ban exports of iron ores ahead of initial schedule

The government may ban exports of iron ores and coal ahead of initial schedule of 2014 to ensure that the local industries will have enough supply, Kontan reported on Thursday.

Director General of Manufacturing and Basic Industries at the Industry Ministry Panggah Susanto said in Jakarta on Wednesday that he would hold a meeting with related industries on Friday to discuss the possibility of prohibiting exports of iron ores and coal before 2014 as originally scheduled.

He said that the export ban should be imposed sooner to ensure that the local industry would get much benefit from the policy. If the ban is imposed in 2014, it is no longer affective to help the industries because the supply has begun to decline, he added.

The association of iron and steel industries association (IISA) welcome the plan. The association?s chairman Irvan Kamal Hakim said that the government should not wait until 2014 to ban exports of the two commodities.

?As the mineral resources are limited, they should be used to support the domestic industries,? he said, adding that many countries had begun to restrict exports of important mineral products. India, for example, had increased export duties for iron ores to 20 percent, he said.

He urged the government to take a similar approach such as by raising the export duties and imposing a domestic market obligation (DMO) to protect local industries. (*)