Indonesia Keeps Importing Nickel Ore from the Philippines to Sustain Smelter Operations
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- BPS reported Indonesia imported 15.84 million tons of nickel ore in 2025, mostly from the Philippines.
- ESDM’s Tri Winarno said imports are meant to sustain domestic downstream processing and keep economic benefits in Indonesia.
- ESDM plans to adjust nickel production to match smelter capacity of about 250–260 million tons per year.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded Indonesia’s nickel ore imports at 15.84 million tons in 2025. Of the total, — or 15.33 million tons — came from the Philippines.
Tri Winarno, director general of minerals and coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM), said the nickel ore import policy should not be viewed as alarming because it is intended to support downstream industrial development at home.
“No, no (there’s no need to worry). The aim is industrialization, and the industry is in Indonesia,” Tri said at Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta on Thursday (Feb. 12, 2026).
This year, he added, nickel ore imports from the Philippines are expected to remain around the same level, at roughly 15 million tons.
Tri emphasized that the key point is that the ore continues to be processed domestically, ensuring Indonesia still captures the multiplier effects—ranging from investment inflows and job creation to higher state revenues.
He compared the situation with other countries that previously imported nickel ore from Indonesia to process it abroad.
“If we look at other countries, for example, France used to import ore from Indonesia and then we protested and so on. But the industry was there, in that country. In our case, we get the multiplier effect here,” he said.
Separately, ESDM is set to reduce nickel production this year in line with smelter processing capacity, which is estimated at around 250–260 million tons per year.
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