According to Fastmarkets report, the Indonesian government is planning to ease the bauxite export ban due to slower-than-expected progress in developing domestic alumina refineries. Indonesia ranks among the world's largest bauxite suppliers, with China as a significant consumer.
The ban announced by Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia, on December 20, 2022, to stimulate the growth of its downstream metals sector might be relaxed in the next couple of months, allowing Indonesian bauxite to re-enter the international market by the fourth quarter of the year.
"The Indonesian government may be thinking to ease the bauxite export ban simply because they do not have the alumina refineries to consume that much bauxite. So, in this instance, the ban is hurting rather than benefiting Indonesian bauxite producers," said Fastmarkets analyst.
