Indonesia's coke industry is positioning for stronger domestic production and export growth as steelmaking capacity expands, with the government focusing on raw material availability, logistics and product quality to improve the sector's competitiveness.
Indonesia's metallurgical coal demand is estimated at around 20mn t/yr, while domestic supply currently covers only about 3mn t, or roughly 15pc of requirements, according to the participants at CT Asia 2026 in Bali, Indonesia. Imports therefore remain an important source of feedstock for the country's coke industry.
Indonesia imported around 11.48mn t of metallurgical coal in 2025, highlighting the significant gap between domestic supply and consumption. The government sees the development of domestic metallurgical coal production as an opportunity to reduce import dependence while creating additional export potential.
Coke production capacity is expected to increase by around 56pc to 15.7mn t in 2026 from 10.1mn t in 2025, while Indonesia's steelmaking capacity is estimated at around 11.2mn t/yr this year.
The expansion of coke and steel capacity is expected to strengthen the domestic value chain, although actual export availability will depend on commissioning schedules, domestic consumption, logistics, operating costs and the ability of producers to consistently meet international specifications.
Indonesia's location close to major Asian steel markets provides a potential freight advantage, but industry participants highlighted the need for reliable transport, predictable deliveries and consistent product quality to convert capacity growth into sustainable export volumes.
Quality remains a key consideration for international buyers, particularly for coke used in blast-furnace operations. Producers need to provide reliable information on parameters such as ash, sulphur, moisture, volatile matter, strength and size to meet individual steelmaker's requirements.
With coke capacity rising sharply and domestic steel production expanding, Indonesia could have more material available for overseas markets. But the pace of export growth will depend on domestic demand, raw material availability, logistics and producers' ability to compete on delivered costs and quality.
The government's focus is therefore shifting beyond capacity expansion towards building a more reliable supply chain and commercial framework that can support both domestic steelmaking and Indonesia's growing role in the seaborne coke market.
