Cement News tagged: International
Suez Cement CEO calls for government to support industry
Jose Maria Magrina, CEO of Suez Cement (HeidelbergCement), has called for the government to set out a plan to rationalise the Egyptian cement market. "There is a large surplus in the market in the last four years," added Mr Magrina. "Therefore, there is a lot of excess supply and very eager manufacturers who want to sell, no matter the cost and environment that demand cannot match the higher ...
Sharp rise in Indonesian cement demand in June
Cement consumption in Indonesia rose by 29.2 per cent YoY to 4.86Mt in June 2020, according to Widodo Santoso, chairman of the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). "This is because last year there were the effects of Ramadan and Eid, so consumption was limited," he said. The easing of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in a number of regions and the relaxation of credit disbursement by ...
Moroccan cement deliveries up 33% in June
Cement sales in Morocco increased 33 per cent MoM in June, according to the Department of Studies and Financial Forecasts of the country’s Ministry of Economy, Finance and Administrative Reform. When compared with June 2019, deliveries are up 2.5 per cent. The rebound follows the gradual easing of COVID-19-related lockdown from 11 June 2020. In terms of construction market segments, infrastru...
Dominican Republic market contracts 13% in 4M20
Cement sales in the Dominican Republic declined 13 per cent to US$120m in the January-April 2020 period when compared with June 2019. In addition, Dominican cement producers also reported a 20 per cent YoY fall in exports, which reached 227,639t of cement. Their output during the period decreased 24 per cent YoY to 1.36Mt. Adriano Brunetti, president of the country’s cement association Adoc...
Qatar's cement production falls in May
Qatar’s Industrial Production Index for May 2020 declined two per cent YoY to 104.2 points, but this was a six per cent increase compared to April 2020. Issued by the Planning and Statistics Authority, the index details the growth of various industrial sectors such as mining, manufacturing and electricity production. In particular, the production of cement and other non-metallic mineral produ...
Azerbaijan records 2% decline in cement production
Cement production in Azerbaijan declined 2.4 per cent YoY to 1.57Mt in the first half of 2020, according to the State Statistics Committee. However, ready-mix concrete production rose 3.6 per cent to 821,500t. Overall, the value of building materials produced in the country reached AZN327.6m (US$192.82m) in the 1H20, down 10.4 per cent compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Spain's cement demand falls 17% in 1H19
Cement consumption in Spain declined 16.5 per cent to 6.1Mt in the first half of 2020 when compared with the 1H19, according to Oficemen, the country’s cement association. The association attributes the fall to the halt in construction works due to the coronavirus pandemic. "In June, many of the works paralysed during the confinement, for example, real estate developments, were resumed, but ...
Egypt sees cement sales surge 42% in June
Egypt's cement industry has reported a sudden surge in total sales, recording 3.64Mt during June 2020, including minimal exports, up 42 per cent MoM and one per cent YoY. June's improvement follows on from one of the lowest monthly sales run rates on record during May, which were impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the partial lockdowns. The MoM turnaround was recorded acros...
Rwanda's cement shortage sparked by classroom building
Cimerwa is seeing a sharp rise in cement prices in Rwanda, following a cement shortage that has been driven by the Ministry of Education's programme for 20,000 classrooms to be built before September in the country. Cement prices have climbed from RWF8500 (US$8.92) to RWF13,000 (US$13.64) in recent days. Cimerwa's retail prices for cement are lower at RWF8800 for Surewall, RWF9800 for Sur...
Indian cement prices struggle in July
All-India cement prices declined by one per cent to INR366/50kg bag (US$4.88/50kg bag) in July, according to Kotak Institutional Equities. Prices in southern India also declined one per cent MoM in July. In the northern and eastern markets prices fell by two per cent and one per cent, respectively, while prices in the west and central India remained resilient. The price difficulty has be...
European building materials sector shows resilience
Following the downturn in activity for the French construction materials sector in April, the following month saw the beginnings of a sequential recovery and even more impressive results were noted in June, according to a CIC Market Solutions (France) report. The country’s ready-mix sector saw activity return from -62 per cent YoY in April to +14-20 per cent in June, while distribution activ...
India's capacity utilisation falls in the 2Q
The capacity utilisation of India’s top 10 cement producers fell to 52 per cent in the quarter ending 30 June, compared to 76 per cent in the year-ago period, according to The Hindu BusinessLine. The decline has been attributed to weak demand and logistics restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The lower capacity utilisation reportedly increased operational costs despite a dip in fuel and r...
Peruvian cement market expands in June
While cement demand in Peru rebounded in June 2020 to 678,000t when compared with 298,000t sold in May 2020, it remained 26.1 per cent below demand reported in June 2019 as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continue to be felt, according to the country’s cement association, Asocem. Cement output improved significantly to 611,000t in June 2020, representing an advance of 131.8 per cent w...
Ethiopia starts online cement sales
Cement customers in Ethiopia can now gain access to buying cement online with the start-up of Dumbulo Shopping Solutions. The online shopping platform founded by Dr Gemechu Waktola will boost cement sales in the region around Addis Ababa. The company has entered into an agreement with National Cement, which has a central cement warehouse in Addis Ababa, and is in discussions with other ceme...
Rwanda's Prime Cement set to begin operations
A new cement plant under construction in Musanze, Rwanda, is set to begin marketing its product next month. Prime Cement Ltd is expected to begin production at around 50,000tpm or 600,000tpa of cement. "Preparations are on high gear. Most of the equipment and machinery are in their place and a few remaining are on their way from Mombasa. No wonder, we shall be on the market next month," said...
Mozambique's new 1.8Mta plant now 90% complete
Mozambique's Minister of Industry and Trade, Carlos Mesquita, has visited the site of the new 1.8Mta Dugong Cimentos plant in Matutuine, noting that when commissioned it should lead to a downward pressure on prices, according to All Africa. The plant is now 90 per cent complete and represents a Chinese investment of around US$330m. It will use around 400,000tpa of coal in its production proc...