JAKARTA - Indonesia produced a record 836-million metric tons of coal in 2024, nearly 18% above its target of 710-million tons, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Monday.

The figure beat 2023 output of 775-million tons, the previous record. Indonesia also set a record for exports, shipping about 555-million tons of coal last year, the ministry data showed.

Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of thermal coal.

For 2025, Indonesia has a target to produce 735-million tons of coal, senior ministry official Tri Winarno said. The country's actual production often surpasses its annual targets.

Also on Monday, the energy minister told reporters Indonesia would consider using the domestic coal benchmark price, known locally as HBA, for global transactions, due to the gap between domestic and international prices.

"Our nation must be sovereign in setting our commodity prices ourselves," he said.

Senior ministry official Tri Winarno added that the plan was to use the HBA as the minimum price for coal deals.

Under the current system, the ministry sets the HBA on the basis of global coal prices, and uses it to calculate royalty fees for miners.

NICKEL OUTPUT

For battery mineral nickel, the ministry targets ore output of 220 million tons this year, similar to last year's output, Tri said. He did not disclose the production quota the ministry has approved.

Last month, nickel miners' association APNI told members of parliament that the ministry has approved a production quota for nearly 300-million wet metric tons for this year.

Minister Bahlil said the government wants to ensure a balance between the ore demand from smelters and the production quota issued by the government, at the same time as making sure smaller miners benefit from the government's push to add value.

Indonesia banned exports of unprocessed nickel in 2020, successfully attracting massive investments in domestic smelters.

Bahlil said nickel miners that own smelting facilities may be granted smaller mining quotas than they requested to encourage them to buy ore from other miners.

"If we grant them the full quota, they will no longer buy from the nearby mines. The state must be present to ensure fairness," he told reporters.