Indonesia to Halt Tin Imports and Develop Future Industries
Jakarta — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) plans to halt tin exports as part of a downstream processing strategy aimed at increasing domestic value addition.
Deputy Minister of ESDM Yuliot Tanjung stated that tin plays a significant role in supporting the development of capital goods industries, particularly the solar panel industry, which is currently expanding in Indonesia. Tin is also viewed as essential for the development of electronics and semiconductor industries, which are now national priorities. Semiconductor development is also listed in the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) as one of the strategic sectors to be developed.
“So the hope going forward is that tin can be maximised for use in domestic industries,” Yuliot said at the ESDM Ministry on Friday 27 February 2026.
Additionally, tin extraction produces several associated minerals that have not been optimally utilised. These by-products include potential rare earth metals and other critical minerals with high strategic value for future technology and energy industries.
“Up until now these by-product minerals have not been utilised to their fullest potential. So as part of restructuring the mining sector, we hope that rare earth metals found in these deposits, as well as critical minerals, can be harnessed for domestic industry development,” he added.
To drive downstream processing, President Prabowo Subianto has designated 18 downstream processing projects as national priorities for 2026, with investment values reaching Rp 618 trillion. These projects span various strategic sectors and are targeted to begin this year, including bauxite processing, nickel refining, coal gasification, and oil refinery development.
The products from these downstream processing operations are targeted to replace imported goods from abroad. Bahlil, Coordinating Minister for Investment, has invited domestic investors, including the banking sector, to inject capital into these national strategic projects.
“All these products are designed to create import substitution. This is a captive domestic market. This is an opportunity for banks to finance. We cannot have banks not financing these projects, or else people will think that downstream processing only benefits our foreign friends,” he said.
By 2040, the downstream processing programme across various sectors is predicted to attract investment of up to US$618 billion. Of this amount, US$498.4 billion is expected to come from the mineral and coal subsector and US$68.3 billion from oil and gas. Downstream processing is also projected to generate US$857.9 billion in exports, US$235.9 billion in GDP, and create more than 3 million jobs.