Indonesia Is One of the World's Biggest Tin Exporters. What Moves the Tin Price and Who Earns From It
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6 min read
In the first three months of 2026, PT Timah sold 6,009 tonnes of tin at an average price of about US$49,221 per tonne, according to the International Tin Association (ITA, via search summary). A tonne is 1,000 kilograms. That is close to US$296 million in sales in one quarter, from a metal most people never think about.
Indonesia is one of the biggest names in the global tin price story. This guide explains, in plain words, what tin is used for, what moves its price, why Indonesian supply is in the news, and who earns when the price rises.
Tin is a soft, silvery metal. You mostly meet it as solder. Solder is the metal "glue" that joins parts on a circuit board.
Solder made up about 52% of tin use in 2024, according to an SMM analysis (via search summary). So tin sits inside phones, laptops, cars and the servers behind AI. That is why traders now watch demand from electronics.
Tin is also traded on the LME, the London Metal Exchange. That is the main global market where metal prices are set. Tin is a small market compared with copper. The ITA estimated refined tin use at about 357,100 tonnes in 2023, which is tiny next to copper. A small market means one supply problem can move the price a lot.
Very high. SMM reports that the average LME spot price in the first half of 2026 was US$50,291 per tonne, up 56.59% from a year earlier (via search summary).
Two other dated points:
I could not find a verified October 2026 quote. Check the LME or a live data page for today's number.
Three things matter most.
1. Supply shocks in a few places. Reports say output at Myanmar's Man Maw mine in Wa State is still well below its level before a ban, perhaps 40% to 50% (via search summary). Transport from Congo's Bisie mine was also disrupted. When a few mines carry the world, one stoppage hurts.
2. Demand from electronics. More chips and servers mean more solder. PT Timah quoted CRU data showing first-half 2026 tin use of about 179,000 tonnes against production of about 173,000 tonnes (Indonesia Business Post, via search summary). Use above supply is called a deficit. It pushes prices up.
3. Indonesian policy and enforcement. This one needs its own section.
Very big. A secondary summary of the US Geological Survey's 2026 report puts 2025 mine output at about 71,000 tonnes for China and 61,000 for Indonesia, out of roughly 290,000 tonnes worldwide (I could not open the USGS table myself, so please check it). That would make Indonesia the second largest miner.
Most of it comes from the islands of Bangka and Belitung. The tin there is often found as sand in old riverbeds and offshore, which is why mining is easy to start and hard to police.
Indonesia also sells mostly to the world, not at home. PT Timah says exports made up 97% of its sales, while industry groups told Parliament the domestic market can absorb only about 5% of national output (Indonesia Business Post; Mining.com, both via search summary).
For years, a lot of Indonesian tin came from unlicensed mining. That hurts the land, and it also means the state does not get its royalties.
A big corruption case grew out of this. Prosecutors put the harm at several parts, including Rp271.07 trillion in environmental damage, Rp26.65 trillion in payments to PT Timah's mining partners and Rp2.28 trillion in smelter rental deals (via search summary of court reports). Sentences were raised on appeal, in some cases to 20 years (INP Polri, via search summary). This guide does not cover any one person. The point is that enforcement can cut supply fast, and the market notices.
Maybe. In February 2026, Bisnis.com reported that Indonesia revived plans to ban raw tin exports by 2027, copying its nickel playbook (Bisnis.com, via search summary). Industry groups asked for a gradual path. I did not find proof that the ban has been finalised, so treat it as a plan.
For the nickel version of this story, read our guide to how the nickel price reaches IDX miners.
Several groups, in different ways:
This is NetWort arithmetic. It is a sketch, not a forecast.
Say PT Timah sells its full 2026 target of 30,000 tonnes. If the tin price rises by US$1,000 per tonne:
30,000 × $1,000 = US$30 million of extra sales.
At the JISDOR rate of Rp17,917 per dollar on 6 October 2026 (see our JISDOR guide), that is about Rp537 billion.
On a price near US$50,000, a US$1,000 move is only 2%. But this is sales, not profit. Costs, royalties, taxes and sales contracts all sit between the price and what shareholders keep. The example only shows scale.
Open the NetWort market page and look at how IDX mining stocks moved this month. Then check whether tin-linked names moved with the metal, or for another reason.