The Philippine Senate has passed a new bill to ban the export of raw ore-Zhejiang Benji Stainless Steel Co., Ltd

On Monday, February 3, 2025, the Philippine Senate read and approved a bill for the third and final time, which will impose a ban on the export of mineral raw materials, paving the way for the development of local industries, the production of high-value export products, and the creation of more job opportunities for Filipinos.
Senate President Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero proposed amendments to Senate Bill 2826, which prohibits the export of raw materials. Once signed into law, it will take effect five years later. According to the proposal, the Philippines will ban the export of locally mined ore, similar to the ban implemented by Indonesia in 2020, when Indonesia banned the export of nickel ore and stopped exporting bauxite in 2022.
The Philippines is one of the worlds largest producers of nickel ore, with a production of 35.14 million metric tons in 2023. Its position in nickel ore supply is second only to Indonesia, with a production of 330000 tons in 2024, accounting for about 9% of global nickel ore production, most of which is exported and a small amount is used for wet MSP production.
Therefore, its nickel ore export policy has a significant impact on the global nickel balance, leading to emotional disturbances. However, considering factors such as resource endowment, infrastructure conditions, and cooperative relationships, if the Philippines follows Indonesias "downstream" measures to attract overseas smelter investment and lay out a longer industrial chain plan, there are still certain challenges, and it is not advisable to excessively hype up this topic. Further long-term observation is still needed. From a fundamental perspective, excess capacity and supply elasticity in the smelting process may limit the height above, but the mining end is the biggest risk point. Due to high concentration in the mining end and low profits in the smelting process, the weight of nickel prices is increased by the influence of the mining end. At the same time, after repeated disruptions in Indonesias nickel ore policy news, the market may focus more on observing the actual supply and demand of nickel ore.
In reality, nickel mines in Indonesia are relatively tight, coupled with expectations of replenishing inventory during Ramadan, and the rainy season in the Philippines may end in March, so there may still be support for short-term mining premiums. The mainstream transaction price of Indonesian nickel ore premium has increased from 15 to around 18 US dollars per wet ton, with a marginal increase from historical highs during the same period. In addition, due to factors such as the reshaping of technology valuation led by Deepseek and the rise in overseas inflation expectations, the overall macro sentiment of commodities has rebounded. Nickel prices have seen a relatively significant increase driven by mining news and fundamentals. It is recommended to temporarily focus on tracking the fundamental changes in Indonesias mining sector.

Zhejiang Benji Stainless Steel Co., Ltd.,