Indonesian consumption contracts in April

Following a disappointing performance over the first three months of this year, there's still no recovery in sight for Indonesian cement consumption as latest figures show demand contracted again in April.

After registering a 3.2 per cent drop YoY in 1Q15, last month demand was down by 1.1 per cent to 4.47Mt. However, the pace of decline eased from the 6.2 and 6.4 per cent reductions recorded in February and March 2015, respectively.

Year-to-date update
For the first four months of 2015, consumption fell by 2.7 per cent to 18.096Mt versus 18.598Mt in the comparative period of 2014. Year-to-date demand was down in Java (-3.0 per cent to 10Mt), Sumatra (-1.8 per cent to 3.839), Kalimantan (-3.4 per cent to  1.43Mt), Sulawesi (-1.7 per cent to 1.331Mt), Nusa Tenggara Timur  (-4.5 per cent to 1.056Mt) and Maluku/Irian Jaya: (-0.5 per cent to 438,602t).

Rise in cement exports
On the plus side, cement exports were up by 528.6 per cent to 156,879t, most of which were exported by Semen Padang (80,724t) and Semen Tonasa (55,706t). No clinker exports were recorded during the four-month period.

Semen Indonesia performance
Meanwhile, the country's leading cement producer Semen Indonesia reported a 2.9 per cent decline in domestic sales over the January-April 2015 period to 7.933Mt. However, exports for the state-owned cement producer, also the parent company of Semen Padang and Semen Tonasa, rose by 812.1 per cent to 136,430t.