Indonesia`s 1st semester cement consumption rises 21 pct

Indonesia's cement consumption during the first half of 2008 surged 21 percent from a year ago supported by growing construction activities, a producer association report showed on Monday.

Data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) said nationwide cement consumption reached 18.89 million tonnes in the first half against 15.6 million tonnes a year earlier.

The country also exported 844,886 tonnes of cement during the first six months, down 37 percent from a year ago.

Cement consumption in the country's main market, Java, rose 17.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier to 10.37 million tonnes. Over the same period, cement consumption outside Java rose between 18 percent and 40 percent, the report was quoted by Thomcon Financial as saying.

Indonesia's biggest cement producer by sales volume PT Semen Gresik Tbk supplied about 42 percent of domestic cement consumption during the first half. It sold 8.32 million tonnes of cement, up from 7.12 million tonnes a year ago.

Semen Gresik's main rivals are PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, the Indonesian unit of Germany's HeidelbergCement AG, and Holcim Indonesia, the unit of Swiss cement maker Holcim.

source: Antara | July 2008