Indonesian Nickel Industry Association: Nickel capacity utilization in Indonesia may drop to 70%, imports of nickel ore are expected to increase significantly

Golden Ten Data reported on March 6 that the Indonesian Nickel Industry Association (FINI) stated on Friday that due to a decline in nickel ore production quotas, Indonesia's nickel processing capacity utilization rate may drop to as low as 70% in 2026, while nickel ore imports are expected to increase significantly. FINI Chairman Arif Perdana Kusumah said that this year, the nickel processing capacity utilization rate may fall to 70% to 75%, down from about 90% last year. Indonesia's nickel processing capacity this year is about 2.7 million tons, which requires about 340 million to 350 million wet metric tons of nickel ore. Energy Ministry official Tri Winarno said that the nickel ore production quota has been set at 260 million to 270 million tons. FINI stated that Indonesia's nickel ore imports are expected to increase to 50 million tons this year, compared to about 15 million tons last year, with about 30 million tons expected to come from the Philippines. Arif said that the impact of the decline in nickel ore production quotas has already begun to show, such as the rise in nickel ore prices. "The impact of the decline in capacity utilization is expected to begin to appear at the end of the second quarter of this year, when shortages of nickel ore raw materials will start to emerge."