Coal miners asked to increase sales on domestic market

The Association of Indonesian Cement Producers (ASI) has appealed to the country's coal mining companies to increase their sales on the domestic market especially to local industries, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

The association's chairman Soepardjo said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the fact that many coal mining companies had allocated a higher percentage of their sales to foreign markets had caused concerns among local industries such as cement producers.

"The sales to local industries should become the main priority of the national mining companies so that there won't be a shortage of coal supply at home," he was quoted as saying.

Soepardjo said that most of the country's cement producers had used coal as the main fuel of their cement plants. At present, the coal represents between 30 and 40 percent of their raw material needs.

"That's why the recent increase in coal price has seriously affected cement production in the country," he said, adding the production had decreased by 40 percent partly due to the rise in coal prices. (*)