Indonesia may relax production quotas of nickel and coal if prices stay high, minister says
Published Thu, Mar 26, 2026 · 02:14 PM
[JAKARTA] Indonesia, a major producer of thermal coal and nickel, may relax production quotas for both commodities if prices remain high, its energy minister said.
“If the prices remain stable, good, we may do what we call a measured relaxation on production plans,” Bahlil Lahadalia said in a statement late on Wednesday (Mar 25) after a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto. “Everything is still being coordinated with the market and the supply and demand, too.”
Indonesia is the world’s top exporter of thermal coal and nickel products.
It has announced plans to cut mining output quotas for many of its minerals to help support prices this year. Indonesia also said that it would cut its coal production quota to 600 million tonnes, from about 790 million tonnes produced last year.
The nickel ore production quota, known as RKAB, has been set at 260 million to 270 million tonnes, the energy ministry has said, lower than the demand of around 340 million to 350 million tonnes, as estimated by Indonesia’s nickel smelter association Fini.
Fini chairman Arif Perdana Kusumah said on Thursday the association welcomed the relaxation plans, though there were no changes yet on production quotas following Bahlil’s statement.
RKAB is subject to revision. All miners in mineral-rich Indonesia are required to submit their annual production plans to the mining ministry for government final approval. REUTERS
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