Govt to issue rulings on tin, rubber exports Thursday

Govt to issue rulings on tin, rubber exports Thursday

Adianto P Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Trade and industry minister Rini M. Soewandi said that her
ministry would issue new rulings on tin and rubber exports on
Thursday.

"I'm going to sign them (the new rulings) on Thursday. We are
now at the stage of adding the finishing touches," Rini told
reporters on Monday after a meeting with a visiting trade
delegation from the Netherlands.

Rini declined to provide further details.

The new ruling on tin exports will replace the existing
ministerial decree No.146/1999, which permitted the export of tin
concentrate, and represents part of a bid to help curb rampant
illegal tin mining, which only produces concentrate.

Ferry Yahya, director of agriculture and mining exports at the
Ministry of Trade and Industry, had earlier said that the
government might designate tin as a strategic commodity the
trading of which would be supervised by the ministry.

"Another alternative would be to authorize only certain
exporters in respect of tin exports," he said.

State-owned tin mining company PT Timah has repeatedly blamed
rampant illegal mining at its mining sites on Bangka and Belitung
islands for causing a plunge in tin prices as the illegal miners
produce an output that is almost equal to Timah's annual tin
production of 40,000 tons.

According to Timah, there are 6,000 groups of illegal miners
on the islands producing a total output of 30,000 tons per annum.

Since the middle of 2001, tin prices have fallen to US$3,630
per ton, the lowest level in the last three decades, while
Timah's production cost stands at about $4,200 per ton.

Meanwhile, the new ruling on rubber exports is aimed at
reducing the export of rubber products in a bid to boost sagging
prices.

Reports said earlier that the government would cut 2002
exports by 10 percent to some 1.23 million tons.

The government earlier also said that it would cut rubber
output by 60,000 tons this year and 75,000 tons next year through
replanting old rubber plantations, prohibiting the expansion of
the area under rubber and switching to the cultivation of other
crops.

The plan forms part of a tripartite agreement with Thailand
and Malaysia to cut output by 4 percent per year over the next
two years.

Indonesia is the second largest rubber producer in the world
after Thailand with a total output of 1.55 million tons last
year.

Meanwhile, some 36 Dutch businessmen met with Rini to discuss
business and investment opportunities here.

The trade mission, led by Netherlands Minister of Foreign
Trade Gerrit Ybeme, is here on a 3-day visit and will meet with a
number of ministers.

"We (Indonesia and the Netherlands) have agreed to improve
trade by exploring opportunities in various areas," Rini
explained.

She said that the agreement included a commitment by the two
countries to bringing down non-tariff barriers.

The 36 companies are involved in shipbuilding, food processing
machinery, banking, infrastructure, mining, forestry and fishing,
education, and the environmental technology sectors.

The Netherlands is one of Indonesia's most important export
destinations and a major aid donor.