Importing cement

Importing cement

Shortly, a number of state enterprises, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry, will be importing cement from Jordan and Mexico, amounting to 2.4 million tons, which is about the equivalent of the capacity of a new cement mill.

By importing cement it is hoped that the price of the commodity will remain stable, at the level of the regional benchmark prices recently set by the government.

We have a good deal of experience with regard to cement. The market behavior -- of producers as well as consumers -- is well known. Every April, in the past five years for instance, according to Ministry of Trade records, the demand declines. After that -- perhaps because of the start of the new budget year -- a drastic rise in demand occurs, peaking around November and December. In addition, the government has identified areas where shortages are likely to occur.

We hope that this experience, in dealing with the problems of cement, will be used for the national interest only, and not for the interest of shareholders, despite the fact that some of the state enterprises, importing cement, have gone public.

-- Republika, Jakarta