THAI SMELTER FACES TIN CONCENTRATE SUPPLY SHORTAGE
Thailand's major tin exporter and
producer <Thailand Smelting and Refining Co> (Thaisarco) said
it may be unable to meet all its overseas orders because of
insufficient supplies of tin concentrates from Thai mines.
    Local mines cut combined daily tin concentrate sales to
Thaisarco, a Royal Dutch/Shell Group <RD.AS> unit, to less than
20 tonnes earlier this month from a previous 40 to 45 tonne
average, commercial manager Yoot Eamsa-ard told Reuters.
    He said the cuts resulted from a government decision to let
the temporary business and municipal tax reductions on exported
tin lapse on June 3.
    The taxes, levied on the tin mines, rose to 4.4 pct this
month from 1.1 pct ad valorem over the past year. The lower
levels had been introduced last year as a temporary move to aid
the tin industry after prices collapsed in late 1985.
    Yoot said Thaisarco had to dig into its stocks to meet a
large portion of new overseas orders which were averaging 100
tonnes per day.
    As a result, he said, Thailand could fail to fill some
3,000 tonnes of its 19,000 tonne tin export quota allocated by
the Association of Tin Producing Countries (ATPC) for the year
ending February 1988.
    Reduced tin exports this year could cause the ATPC to
allocate a lower quota next year, Yoot said.
    The supplies shortage should prove temporary, however,
because the Thai cabinet is expected to review a Mineral
Resources Department proposal to reinstate the low taxes late
this month, Yoot said.
    The department said Thailand exported 7,715 tonnes of tin
during January/May compared with 8,462 tonnes a year ago.
 REUTER
