Indonesia March domestic cement sales up eight per cent

Cement sales in Indonesia grew eight percent to 2.27Mt in March from a year earlier, the country’s largest cement maker, PT Semen Gresik Tbk, said.

Gresik sold 1.19Mt of cement in March, including exports, up 21.2 per cent from the same month in 2003. Gresik is 25.5 percent owned by Cemex.

State-run Gresik said its domestic cement sales in March rose 18.8 per cent from a year earlier to 1.04Mt. The company did not give any reason for the sharp increases.  Some analysts have forecast domestic cement sales would rise eight percent in 2004 on the back of projects and other spending linked to the country’s long election year.

Cement sales in the world’s fourth most populous country grew a paltry one percent to 27.5Mt  in 2003 following rises in fuel and utility prices.