The Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) has emphasized the need for a more diversified and resilient global critical minerals supply chain due to potential Indonesian supply disruptions.
PNIA President Dante R. Bravo stated that Indonesia's yearly decision on nickel quotas highlights the risks of relying too heavily on a single country for critical minerals. He noted that the Philippines has consistently supplied nickel to the region despite various challenges, including quota tightening, easing, and pandemic disruptions.
The association cited the importance of improving permitting efficiency, regulatory predictability, and investment competitiveness to move towards downstream processing and expand the Philippines' presence in the higher-value segments of the critical minerals supply chain.
PNIA President Bravo stressed that the Philippines, along with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, has the necessary geology, labor, capital, partnerships, technology, and market to avert the concentration of the nickel supply on any one country.
The PNIA is working with various government agencies to improve the Philippine permitting system, which is seen as a major hurdle to the country's growth in the global battery and stainless steel supply chain.
The association noted that broader cooperation within ASEAN and partnerships with countries like Canada would help diversify markets, attract investment, and reinforce ASEAN's supplier role in the global energy transition.
A potential Philippines-Canada free trade agreement, alongside a broader ASEAN-Canada agreement, is seen as a way to give global manufacturers and battery producers a trusted sourcing option that is not concentrated in any single country.
The PNIA aims to strengthen supply chain resilience, promote responsible mining standards, and enhance ASEAN's collective competitiveness through closer regional cooperation among critical mineral producers.
The Philippines remains one of the world's leading producers of nickel, accounting for approximately 10% of global nickel output and housing the world's sixth-largest nickel reserves, according to recent data.
