Japan Tin Users Leaving from Indonesia and China

Japanese large tin users, such as solder makers, are increasing material procurement from Thailand rather than Indonesia. Indonesia has regulated tin export. On the other hand, Thai large suppliers have increased tin outputs and appealed cheaper products to Japanese consumers. Japanese users’ tin procurement was expected to concentrate in Indonesia after China turns to a net tin importer. However, actually, the importing routes are diversified.Japanese tin import was 2,695 tonnes in July at a quick estimation by Ministry of Finance. Thailand accounted for 39.5% in the amount, whose tin export to Japan increased by 213% to 1,065 tonnes. Malaysia represented 800 tonnes and exceeded 599 tonnes of Indonesia. The import from China maintained below 100 tonnes for 5 months in a row. Japanese tin consumers seemed to shift from previous 2 largest suppliers, Indonesia and China.