Indonesia imported 11.4 million metric tons of nickel ore from the Philippines between January and July this year. The imports were worth $696.5 million, Statistics Indonesia said.
That compares with 6.82 million tons imported over the same period in 2025, according to the agency’s data.
Indonesia holds the world’s largest nickel ore reserves. It controls around 45% of the global total and remains the biggest nickel exporter.
The government has tightened its annual mining quota to support prices. It approved a range of 260 to 270 million tons for 2026. That is down from 379 million tons the year before.
Some major producers have felt the impact directly. PT Vale Indonesia reportedly received approval for only about 30% of the production volume it proposed for the year.
The rising imports follow a memorandum of understanding signed by Indonesia and the Philippines in May. The agreement aims to secure nickel ore supplies for Indonesian smelters.
The Philippines has increasingly filled the gap left by Indonesia’s production cuts. Industry group FINI expects Philippine-sourced imports to keep climbing. Domestic mine planning timelines are also becoming shorter than those for smelter expansion.
Indonesia has built a large processing industry around its nickel resources. Smelter capacity grew from 250,000 tons of class-two nickel in 2017 to more than 1.8 million tons in 2024.
The country continues to draw investment into nickel processing and battery-related industries. At the same time, it is managing the supply available from its own mines.
