Jakarta. Chief Downstream Industry and Energy Transition Minister Bahlil Lahadalia defended tighter coal production quotas, saying Indonesia must control supply if it wants greater influence over prices despite being one of the world’s largest coal suppliers.

Speaking in his first keynote speech in his new role at the Investor Daily Summit 2026 in Jakarta on Wednesday, Bahlil said the government would use the Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) to prevent oversupply and protect coal prices.

“Many people criticized me over the RKAB. But we cannot ignore supply and demand,” Bahlil said.

He pointed to the imbalance between Indonesia’s role as a major exporter and its limited influence over global coal prices. Of the roughly 8.9 billion tons of global coal demand, only about 1.3 billion tons is traded internationally, with Indonesia supplying around 540 million tons, he said.

“But imagine, we are a major supplier, yet we cannot control the price. The price is controlled by foreigners,” Bahlil said.

That, he said, is why the government has tightened production quotas and used the coal reference price (HBA) as a policy tool.

“If demand is only 300, then we give them 300. Why give them 400? They will manipulate the price,” he said. Bahlil was arguing that excessive production could create oversupply and put downward pressure on coal prices.

Bahlil said the approach had helped push the price of coal with a calorific value of 6,300 kcal/kg to around $140 per ton, although the tighter quotas have drawn criticism from mining companies.

The 2026 RKAB policy cut the coal production quota to around 600 million tons (580 million approved initially), from about 790 million tons produced in 2025. The nickel ore quota was cut to around 250-270 million tons, from about 379 million tons in 2025, to support prices. Both quotas may be revised upward in the second half.

Bahlil said the tighter allocation was also intended to prevent large mining companies from taking up quotas at the expense of smaller operators.

“If the big companies get everything, while the small ones get nothing because the quota is already used up, that is not fair,” he said. “The state does not only take care of the big players. The state takes care of both the big and the small.”

The government is also seeking to give local businesses a larger role in mining supply chains, including through requirements for mining companies to empower local contractors.

“Do not let local people become spectators in their own land,” Bahlil said.

He framed the policies as part of the Prabowo administration’s interpretation of Article 33 of the Constitution, which puts natural resources under state control for the people’s benefit.

“If you control the big part, don’t take the small part as well. Share it so this country becomes stronger,” Bahlil said. “We do not need only three to five strong people. We need 100,000 to 200,000 strong people so this country can rise and become a great nation.

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