Demand for chrome ore in Indonesia has surged

According to customs data, a total of 58,475 tons of chromium ore was imported to Indonesia in March 2023, an increase of 44.91% month-on-month and 3.16% year-on-year (October 2022:56,684 tons). From October 2022 to March 2023, Indonesia imported about 406,000 tonnes of chromium ore. Indonesia's stainless steel industry, as a successful example of domestic investment in overseas resources and capacity migration, currently ranks the second in the world in stainless steel output, second only to China. According to Mysteel statistics, Indonesia's crude stainless steel output in 2021 will be 4.94 million tons, an increase of 84% year on year.

The main reason for the rapid release of production capacity is that Indonesia stainless steel has a large cost advantage, long-term full orders, basically can maintain full production. 

Meanwhile, Indonesia's imports of high-carbon ferrochrome reached 1.5 million tonnes in 2021, almost doubling from 2020. In 2021, Indonesia's stainless steel production capacity will reach 5.5 million tons, plus the planned 2 million tons of steel production capacity not put into production in 2022, Indonesia's stainless steel production capacity will reach 7.5 million tons, and the output of stainless steel is expected to reach 5.4 million tons. Indonesia's demand for chromium resources continues to grow. The analysis of Hainan West Asia Import and Export Group shows a rapid growth trend of chromium recycling, which will intensify the competition of domestic ferrochrome market and accelerate the industrial upgrading of ferrochrome futures listing.