Cement News tagged: International
Paraguay's construction sector reports cement shortage
Construction firms in Paraguay are reportedly seeing cement shortages as they face problems with bringing cement into the country, according to Ultima Hora. The state-run cement producer, INC has stated that the cost of cement remains the same and that it increased production and deliveries in August 2020. However, the company can only meet around 60 per cent of domestic demand. Cement pri...
Uruguay sees exports rise in the 2Q20
Cement sales in Uruguay reached 166,074t in the second quarter of 2020, a 3.9 per cent drop YoY, according to data from the Chamber of Industries. Of the total, 97 per cent were domestic sales and three per cent were exports, mostly to Paraguay. Domestic sales were down 4.1 per cent YoY, but exports climbed 3.9 per cent.
Tunisia looks to change cement packaging and reduce costs
Salah Ben Youssef, Tunisia’s Minister of Industry and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises, has stated that by replacing 30 per cent of Kraft paper bags used in cement packaging with polypropylene bags, the equivalent of TND20m (US$7.37m) in foreign currency would be saved. "This will help Tunisia reposition itself on the Libyan market by bringing down the cost of cement bags and increasin...
Egyptian cement demand has fallen 20% since May
Since Egypt's Ministry of Local Development (MLD) suspended building licences for six months in the governorates of Greater Cairo (Cairo-Giza-Qalyubia), Alexandria, and provincial capitals and major cities with high population densities in May, cement demand has dropped by 20 per cent. Ahmed Al-Zaini, Chairman of the Building Materials Division, Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FE...
Puerto Rican cement sales rise in July
Puerto Rican cement sales increased 23.8 per cent YoY in July 2020, rising to 1.42m (42.5kg) bags from 1.15m bags in the corresponding period of 2019, according to Sin Comillas. Cement sales reportedly began to recover in May 2020 and surged 42 per cent YoY in June 2020. Cement production also advanced 31.3 per cent YoY to 1.32m bags in July 2020.
Azerbaijan sees cement production decline 3% YoY
Azerbaijan saw the value of construction materials produced in the country fall 4.8 per cent YoY to AZN426.7m (US$250.9m) in the first seven months of 2020, according to the State Statistics Committee. At the same time, the production of cement decreased by 2.7 per cent and precast concrete structures were down 25.6 per cent.
Vietnamese export volumes rise 11% in the 7M20
Vietnam exported 19.5Mt of cement and clinker worth US$732m in the first seven months of 2020, up 11.4 per cent YoY in volume but down 5.4 per cent in value, according to Dau Tu (Investment). In the seven-month period, the major export markets included China, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Last year, the Ministry of Construction forecast that Vietnam would sell 101-103Mt of cement and c...
Bangladesh's cement sector sees signs of recovery in demand
Premier Cement of Bangladesh has reported that the cement sector has been showing some signs of recovery for the last two months, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The sector had been reeling from the unprecedented collapse in demand in April and May because of the pandemic, which hammered activity and brought the construction sector to a grinding halt. However, activity has begun to pick up ...
Uzbekistan's cement capacity reportedly set to rise 60% YoY
Uzbekistan’s cement production capacity will rise to 20Mta by the end of 2020, up 60 per cent YoY from 12.5Mta at the end of 2019, according to Ulugbek Abrayev, deputy chair of Uzbekqurilishmateriallari. Mr Abrayev added that the country will produce 14.5Mt in 2021, around 73 per cent of the projected capacity for 2021. At present 10 cement plant construction projects across eight of Uzb...
Namibia’s cement sales affected by COVID-19
The lack of economic activity due to the coronavirus pandemic has affected cement sales by Ohorongo Cement, said Frankleen Alberts, the company’s customer relations and public affairs manager. “Cement sales have been affected since the outbreak of the virus. We were able to continue supplying our Namibian market without major interruptions while adhering to the regulations under the state of...
Peru’s cement market recovers, exports remain low in July
Cement dispatches in Peru are recovering from COVID-19 disruption. In July 2020, 0.826Mt of cement was delivered to the domestic market, according to Asocem. While still 5.7 per cent below the July 2019 level of 0.876Mt, when compared with June 2020, there was a 39 per cent surge from 0.594Mt. Cement exports remained modest at 6700t, edging up by 4.4 per cent when compared with June 2020. How...
Pakistan cement production witnessed a mixed trend in FY19-20
The output of Pakistan's large-scale manufacturing industries (LSMIs) declined by 10.2 per cent in the previous fiscal year, FY19-20, compared to FY18-19, as almost all of the major manufacturing sectors posted negative growth, according to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). According to provisional quantum index numbers of large-scale manufacturing industries (QIM),...
Dominican Republic market contracts 20% in 1H20
Cement sales in the Dominican Republic fell 20.3 per cent YoY to 1,835,598t in the first half of 2020 from 2,303,915t in the 1H19, reports the domestic cement association, Adocem. In terms of value, there was a 9.8 per cent decline to DOP9.9bn (US$168.6m) from DOP10.98m in the 1H19. Output from domestic cement plants decreased 23.5 per cent YoY to 2,150,200t in January-June 2020 from 2,812,13...
Vietnamese exports surge while domestic sales fall in June
Cement sales in Vietnam fell by eight per cent in June 2020 when compared to June 2019, according to the Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA). Shipments reached 5,215,388t, noting a similar MoM decrease from 5,680,883t in May 2020. Of this total, VICEM reported an eight per cent YoY decline to 1,693,426t while sales of its joint ventures were down 10 per cent YoY to 1,371,962t in June....
Bangladesh's raw material imports decline 13%
The value of raw material imports for Bangladesh’s cement industry fell almost 13 per cent YoY to BDT64.81bn (US$764.1m) in the FY19-20, on the back of a stagnation in construction activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses imported 18.6Mt of cement clinker, granulated slag, limestone flux and gypsum in the last fiscal year, down from 20.99Mt a year ago, according to the Chattogram ...
Gabon sees 2% drop in 1Q cement production
The first three months of 2020 saw cement production in Gabon fall by 1.7 per cent YoY to 109,954t, according to Gabon’s General Directorate for the Economy and Fiscal Policy. Combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, this has started to impact the domestic market as prices are rising following a shortage of supply.