Stagnant coal supply impacts Indonesian cement exports

The constrained supply of coal in Indonesia has affected cement and clinker exports from the archipelago. While under normal supply conditions, there is sufficient coal for 21-30 days, in early December 2021 coal supply on average lasted 5-10 days, according to Widodo Santoso, chairman of the Indonesian cement association, ASI.

As a result, some Indonesian cement producers, including PT Semen Indonesia, Semen Tonasa, Semen Padang and Semen Bosowa Maros, stopped allocating production for exports to prioritise the domestic market. In November exports fell by 25 per cent YoY to 0.505Mt.

Mr Widodo said that ASI appreciated the government's policy to set a special coal price of US$90/t. However, this price is still relatively higher than the figure at the beginning of 2021 with an increase of around 50 percent. In addition, the supply of coal is still relatively stagnant. "The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and Industry is expected to adopt a policy on supply and price issues for the national industry to maintain the stability of the sustainability of the industry's performance," he added.