Indonesia’s largest cement producer PT Semen Gresik  is aiming to maintain its domestic market share at 45 per cent this year by reducing sales overseas, said company finance director Cholil Hasan.  "We may reduce exports by 25-30 per cent this year depending on local demand,"  Hasan told a news briefing.  He said Semen Gresik’s domestic cement sales are expected to rise by six per cent or more this year, partly on demand from government infrastructure  projects. Last year, it sold 14.28Mt of cement in the domestic market, up 6.5 per cent on year. 

Semen Gresik’s total sales for 2005, including exports, rose 4.5 per cent to 16.34Mt. Hasan said that in order to maintain its domestic market share at 45 per cent the company will have to reduce exports, he said.  This would also help offset increasing production costs, as local cement  prices are higher than export prices, he added.  Last year, its exports fell 7.7 per cent to 2.06Mt.