Indonesia to export 4.5 million tons of cement next year<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): After years of importing hundreds of tons of
\ncement, Indonesia is projected to export 4.5 million tons of
\ncement next year due to an oversupply in the domestic market.<\/p>\n
Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo revealed
\nyesterday that Indonesia was likely to see an oversupply of 6.7
\nmillion tons next year.<\/p>\n
\"Of that oversupply, 4.5 million tons would be destined for
\nexport and 2.2 million tons would be used for domestic stocks to
\nanticipate a sudden increase in demand,\" Tunky said at a working
\nsession with the House of Representatives Commission V for
\nmanpower and trade.<\/p>\n
Tunky said the overall cement supply for 1998 would reach
\n36.06 million tons, a 29.3 percent increase from the 27.88
\nmillion tons this year.<\/p>\n
Domestic demand for cement was projected to grow only by 13
\npercent to 29.34 million tons next year, up from 27.94 million
\ntons this year.<\/p>\n
\"Demand for cement has declined since September, caused by the
\ndomestic monetary situation,\" Tunky said, referring to the
\ncurrency crisis currently gripping the country.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has had to come to grips with a crisis which has
\nresulted in the quick depreciation of the rupiah against the U.S.
\ndollar since early July. The rupiah has lost some 40 percent of
\nits value since then.<\/p>\n
\"It is projected that this monetary situation will push down
\nfurther domestic demand for cement for 1998,\" Tunky added.<\/p>\n
However, the supply of cement has continued to increase as
\nexpansions of existing cement plants and new investments in
\ncement plants have gone on as scheduled.<\/p>\n
The expansion of four existing cement plants and the building
\nof three new cement plants, with a combined installed capacity of
\n12.65 million tons, will result in next year's increase in
\ndomestic cement production.<\/p>\n
Tunky did not detail which cement plants would be operational
\nnext year. But with an addition of 12.65 million tons in
\ncapacity, total annual installed capacity of all domestic cement
\nplants would reach 46.27 million tons next year.<\/p>\n
This year alone, Tunky said, Indonesia saw four cement
\nexpansion projects, with a combined installed capacity of 6.29
\nmillion tons per annum.<\/p>\n
They came from the country's largest cement producer PT
\nIndocement Tunggal Prakarsa's 10th unit with an annual capacity
\nof 1.3 million tons; state-owned PT semen Gresik's Tuban II
\nproject with 2.3 million tons; PT Semen Cibinong's 5th unit with
\n2.6 million tons; and PT Semen Kupang with 90,000 tons.<\/p>\n
\"With such a huge oversupply for 1998, it is expected that
\ncement prices will remain stable until next year,\" Tunky said.<\/p>\n
As part of its deregulation measures announced early last
\nmonth, the government scrapped its pricing policy for cement,
\ntermed as the regional reference prices for cement.<\/p>\n
Since the early 1990s until two years ago, Indonesia had been
\nstruck by annual cement crises, driven by supply shortages
\nespecially during the second semester when developers started
\nconstruction of public and private projects.<\/p>\n
The government then encouraged domestic cement producers as
\nwell as general importers to import cement to satisfy the growing
\ndomestic demand. It also established cement floating terminals to
\nfacilitate the flow of cement distribution both from domestic
\nproducers and importers.<\/p>\n
In the last two years, no major cement shortages or problems
\nwere reported in the country. Only some minor cases, especially
\nprice increases, were recorded in some areas.<\/p>\n
To facilitate the supply of cement across the country, Tunky
\nsaid, state-owned cement plants would continue to build more
\ncement packing plants in areas far away from cement production
\nplants.<\/p>\n
Next year, state-owned PT Semen Tonasa, an affiliate of Semen
\nGresik incorporated in Tonasa, South Sulawesi, will build two
\nmore packing plants in Lembar, West Nusa Tenggara, and in Palu,
\nCentral Sulawesi, with an annual production capacity of 300,000
\ntons per annum each.<\/p>\n
State-owned PT Semen Padang, another affiliate of Semen Gresik
\nlocated in Padang, West Sumatra, will build two packing plants in
\nCiwandan, West Java, and Lampung, with an annual capacity of
\n600,000 tons each.<\/p>\n
Currently, Tunky said, state-owned cement producers have six
\npacking plants outside their production sites, with an annual
\ncapacity of 300,000 tons each.<\/p>\n
They are in Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi, in Bitung, North
\nSulawesi, in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, in Banjarmasin, South
\nKalimantan, in Celukan Bawang, Bali and in Ambon, Maluku.<\/p>\n
\"We will use some of those packing plants as a base to export
\ncement to neighboring countries, especially the Philippines and
\nBrunei,\" Tunky said. (rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-to-export-45-million-tons-of-cement-next-year-1447893297",
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