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Indonesia plans to ease ban on bauxite export

Xinhua, March 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Indonesian government plans to ease the export ban on bauxite minerals in a bid to boost construction of smelting facilities in the country, an official said here on Monday.

If the plan goes through, mineral producers are expected to tap more revenue, which could be used to continue the construction of some smelting facilities, Said Didu, head of the national smelter development team at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said.

Some firms had halted construction of facilities due to lack of funds, he said.

"If this issue is left unaddressed, the government may not be able to reach the target of setting up smelters and boosting the downstream sector," Didu added.

Indonesia imposed a ban on mineral exports early last year to push miners to set up smelting and processing facilities to boost the domestic downstream sector.

In addition to boosting revenue for the producers, the export of bauxite minerals is expected to support the country's total export this year.

Indonesia recorded a trade surplus of 700 million U.S. dollars in February, slightly less than 709.4 million U.S. dollars in the previous month, the country's statistic bureau has said. Endi