WTO Case Lost, Indonesia's Nickel Exports Over the Past 5 Years

President Joko Widodo affirmed that Indonesia will appeal after losing to the European Union in a lawsuit concerning the ban on nickel ore exports at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"It's okay, we lost. I told the minister to appeal. In the next round, we'll focus on downstreaming again, on bauxite. This means that raw bauxite must be processed domestically so that we can add value," Jokowi said, as reported by the official website of the Indonesian Cabinet Secretariat on Wednesday (30/11/2022).

"After that, other materials, including small things, like coffee, we must ensure that we don't export them in raw form. We've been exporting them for hundreds of years. Stop. Let's find investors to come in, so that there is added value," he continued.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), since 2021, the volume and value of Indonesia's nickel exports have continued to increase, especially in the first nine months of this year.

From January to September 2022, the volume of national nickel exports reached 534,050 tons. This figure surged by 458.39% compared to the same period last year.

Similarly, the value of nickel exports from January to September 2022 reached US$4.12 billion, or Rp62.83 trillion (at an exchange rate of Rp15,232 per US dollar). This value jumped more than fivefold compared to January-September 2021, and is more than 3.24 times higher than the export value for the whole of last year.

This indicates that downstreaming during the ban on nickel ore exports has yielded significant results for the Indonesian economy.