Indonesia's January sales decline

Indonesian cement sales fell by 2.9 per cent YoY to 4.5Mt in January 2015, as heavy rains affected construction activity in several areas.

Most region of the country registered a drop in demand during the month. Widodo Santoso, head of the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI), said that the largest declines were recorded in Kalimantan (-12.9 per cent) and Sumatra (-9.6 per cent). Sales on the main island of Java remained stagnant at 2.55Mt. There was, however, a large rise recorded in the Moluccas and Papua in eastern Indonesia where cement sales jumped 43.5 per cent YoY to 125,000t.

A recovery is not anticipated in February as several regions are still being affected by torrential rains, Mr Santoso noted. Provided that the government of Indonesia can accelerate planned infrastructure projects then cement sales may rebound in March 2015.

Last year Indonesian cement demand growth slowed to 3.6 per cent with sales at 59.9Mt.