JAKARTA (Commodity Online): Indonesia is reported to be planning on imposing an export tax in 2012 on commodities like coal and base metals ahead of the complete export ban expected to come into effect in 2014.
"We are preparing the concept of export tax on mineral products as a supporting policy for encouraging base metal and coal downstream industry development” Reuters quoted Industry Minister Mohamad Hidayat.
"Hopefully we can impose the export tax in 2012. This is crucial as a milestone for a total export ban in 2014. If we wait until the total ban is imposed in 2014 then it will be late for the government in preparing the local downstream industry”, he added.
Indonesia is one of the largest exporters of coal and base metals. In fact it is the number one coal exporter in the world and its Grasberg copper mine is said to hold one of the largest recoverable deposits of copper anywhere in the world.
The government of Indonesia has been planning on a complete ban of ore exports by 2014 in hopes that it would contribute to the national treasury. An export ban will make it necessary for miners to process the ores into high value products prior to exporting them. This would in effect create additional revenue for the government from the mining sector.
An Indonesian Tin industry body had earlier imposed an export ban on Tin on hopes that it would trigger a revival in Tin prices which had fallen by over 35% at the London Metal Exchange in 2011 alone. However, with prices remaining depressed many exporter had overlooked and decided on resuming exports. Indonesia is the largest Tin exporter in the world.
