Indonesia’s Timah Q1 refined tin output down 23 pct

JAKARTA, April 30 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s state-owned tin producer PT Timah said on Monday its refined tin output fell 23 percent in the January- March quarter from a year earlier.

Refined tin output fell to 5,361 tonnes in the quarter from 6,963 tonnes in the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

“The company’s declining performance was only temporary and was entirely a result of changes to export regulations and natural conditions in mining areas,” the stock exchange filing said.

Timah’s tin sales declined 17 percent to 5,801 tonnes in the quarter, it said.

Earlier this month, the company said it had been unable to get export approval because of a rule change, and estimated that up to 3,000 tonnes of tin shipments could be affected.

(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)