Gresik to export cement

JAKARTA (JP): State cement producer PT Semen Gresik will export part of its production to Australia and Columbia due to a continued fall in domestic demand.

Gresik spokesman Bambang Subroto said Saturday that company export activities would begin in March, with at least three shipments per month.

"The first shipment will be 25,000 tons of cement while the second and third shipments will be about 50,000 tons each," Antara quoted him as saying.

The monetary crisis, which has seen the rupiah's value fall 70 percent against the U.S. dollar, has forced the company to slash its production to 20,000 tons per day from a previous 25,000 ton per day output as domestic demand has decreased.

"We have raised our retail price 40 percent to Rp 14,300 (US$1.55) per sack since Feb. 2 this year to offset rising production costs," he said. (aly)