Indonesia Bans Bauxite Exports Starting June 2023: A Decade of Export Values

Indonesia is one of the world's largest bauxite producers. However, starting this year, the government will ban the export of raw bauxite.

"Starting June 2023, the government will impose a ban on the export of bauxite ore and encourage the domestic processing and refining of bauxite," said President Jokowi in his press release on the Presidenri.go.id website late last year (December 21, 2022).

According to the Acting Director General of Minerals and Coal (Minerba) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Muhammad Wafid, the plan will be implemented starting tomorrow.

"Yes (the plan to ban bauxite ore exports) is still on. If that policy must be implemented on the 10th (June 2023)," said Muhammad Wafid to Detik.com, Thursday (June 8, 2023).

Bauxite is a raw material for making aluminum, a lightweight metal that can be compacted to be as hard as steel, is corrosion-resistant, and is a good electrical conductor.

Aluminum then becomes an important raw material for various industries, ranging from automotive, household appliances, to solar panel technology.

Bank Indonesia (BI) notes that in the last decade, Indonesia has routinely exported bauxite. Its export value reached a record high in 2013, at approximately USD 1.3 billion.

After that, the value of national bauxite exports decreased during the 2014-2016 period, but the trend rose again since 2017, as seen in the graph above.

BI did not detail the form of bauxite included in the export value. However, according to President Jokowi, Indonesia has mostly exported unprocessed bauxite.

"Why should bauxite exports be stopped? Let me give you an example. Indonesia is the world's 3rd largest exporter of raw bauxite. But, our aluminum exports are ranked 33rd in the world," said President Jokowi at the Mandiri Investment Forum 2023 at the Fairmont Hotel, South Jakarta, Wednesday (February 1, 2023).

"The export of raw bauxite is number 3 in the world, but the export of semi-finished and finished goods (aluminum) is number 33?" he continued.

President Jokowi hopes that the ban on raw bauxite exports will trigger the development of downstream processing or bauxite processing, and create new jobs domestically.