Reserves worry tin producers

Press, 10 October 1984, Page 29

Reserves worry tin producers

NZPA-AP Bolivia Calling on the United States not to release its tin reserves, a group of tinproducing countries has decided at the end of a twoday conference to continue with export quotas until the tin market is stabilised. Mining ministers and other officials from Nigeria, Australia, Bolivia, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia met last week in Santa Cruz, 515 km east of La Paz, to discuss the world tin market.. The participants said in a document after the talks that “the tin industry has been affected by excess production as well as by the sale of tin reserves by the United States Government.” The document also said tin-producing nations “face a decrease in the use of tin caused by the prolonged world economic recession and structural changes in the use of tin.” “This has resulted in an accumulation of reserves,” said the document. The participants agreed to support export quotas set by the International Tin Council and called on countries that have increased production to decrease production for the benefit of all producers.

Participating countries also agreed to intensify plans to investigate and develop the tin market. They asked consumer nations to give their full support to the producers “in an effort to improve and stabilise the market, and especially the United States (government) with reference to its program to release reserves.”

World tin production is estimated' at 70,000 tonnes, according to figures released by the conference secretariat. Tin prices have shown a steady decline in recent years, while production costs have increased.