Tin firm approved for processing trade

Yunnan Tin Co ( YTC), the world’s biggest tin producer, said that it had received Chinese government approval for “processing trade,” which involves producing refined metal for export using imported concentrate, Reuters reported Tuesday.

That could provide a further boost to Chinese tin exports, which have been climbing this year, buttressing dwindling stocks abroad and dampening global prices.

“We don’t have a clear timeframe for ( such) tin exports ... as there is lots of preparation work to do. We are in talks with the Ministry of Commerce and customs to go through the process,” YTC official Yue Min said, without giving further details.

The agreement means that YTC will be able to skip the 17- percent valueadded tax on refined metal exports that it has produced from imported concentrate, said tin industry body ITRI. The Chinese government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China, the world’s biggest user and producer of tin, early this year scrapped a 10- percent duty on all exports of refined tin, ending a policy that had crimped export volumes since it was introduced in 2008.

YTC is by far the world’s biggest producer of refined tin, with some 76,000 tons of output last year, around three times the amount of No. 2 producer, Malaysia Smelting Corp.