On May 20th, Indonesian President Prabowo announced that the government plans to uniformly manage key commodity exports through state-owned enterprises (BUMN). This policy will initially cover palm oil, coal, and ferroalloys, and is scheduled to be implemented starting from June 1st. The market generally believes that nickel pig iron (NPI) is not directly classified as ferroalloys, but iron-nickel (HS 7202.60) is expected to be included in the control scope. A large enterprise has requested that the smelting plant in the Indonesia Vediawan Industrial Park reduce the production of nickel pig iron in June to save electricity for aluminum production. Market rumors suggest that the Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM) has temporarily suspended the mining licenses (IUP) of over 50 mining and coal enterprises that have not received approval for their 2026 work plans and budgets (RKAB), further exacerbating the uncertainty in the supply outlook.
