Domestic cement consumption grew 5 per cent to 31.51Mt in 2005 from 30.04Mt a year earlier, the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) said. Cement exports also rose 11.6 per cent to 3.29Mt from 2.95Mt previously while clinker exports dropped 26.9 per cent to 3.42Mt, the association said in a report.

It said among the major domestic markets, cement consumption in Jakarta grew 4.5 per cent to 3.67 mln tons in 2005 while sales in the nearby province of Banten rose 20 per cent to 2.10 mln tons from 1.75 mln.

The biggest market was in West Java, where cement consumption increased 6.6 per cent to 5.27Mt from 4.93Mt a year earlier, followed by East Java with growth of 3.2 per cent to 4.50Mt from 4.36Mt while Central Java sales rose 2.3 per cent to 3.60Mt from 3.51Mt previously. All other markets outside Java reported a rise in consumption except for Sulawesi, the report said.