PIKIRAN RAKYAT - The Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, declared the ban on bauxite exports in an attempt to encourage the domestic bauxite processing and refining industry. The policy will be imposed in June 2023.
"Starting in June 2023, the government will impose a ban on bauxite ore exports and encourage the domestic bauxite processing and refining industry," said Joko Widodo in official statements in December last year.
The policy was imposed to establish Indonesian natural resource sovereignty and cut off the dependency on imported finished goods. Furthermore, Jokowi added that the policy would open up new job opportunities for domestic experts.
Through the domestic industrialization of bauxite, the President measured that state revenues would increase from Rp21 trillion to Rp62 trillion annually. However, Jokowi acknowledged that the bauxite smelters in Indonesia still lack numbers.
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Despite the existing problem, Jokowi believed that the ban on bauxite exports would help Indonesia hold an important role in the global chain of electric vehicle automobile manufacturers, as he also banned nickel exports on January 1, 2020.
Previously, Jokowi’s administration had also imposed a ban on nickel exports on January 1, 2020. Through this policy, Indonesia managed to increase the value of nickel exports by up to 19 times, from only Rp17 trillion, or 1.1 billion USD, at the end of 2014, increasing to Rp326 trillion, or 20.9 billion USD, in 2021.
Furthermore, although his administration often experimented with policies, he insisted that the policy to ban bauxite exports would remain consistent.
"The government will continue to consistently carry out the domestication of the industry so the added value will benefit the progress and welfare of the people," he stressed.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Bauxite and Iron Ore Association (APB3I) said that most of the work plans and budgets (RKAB) of bauxite mining companies have yet to be approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources with regard to the export ban policy, which is scheduled for June 2023.***