Cement sales in Portugal’s autonomous region of the Azores Islands registered a 2.7 per cent year-on-year decrease to a total 27,382t in May 2005, data from the Azores regional statistics office SREA showed on July 22, 2005. In comparison, sales of cement in the region totalled 28,937t in May 2004, SREA added. 
 
Cement sales on the Azores Islands amounted to 134,297 tonnes in the five-month period January to May 2005, down from 137,639 tonnes in the same period a year ago.   On the other hand, cement imports in the Azores region grew to 66,689t in the five-month period since the beginning of 2005, up from 59,510t in the respective period of 2004. 
 
According to SREA, the fall in the volumes of the cement sales on the Azores Islands reflects the decrease in the number of building permits issued by the municipal authorities in the region. New building permits issued in Azores during the 12-month period, ended May 2005, decreased by 1.8 per cent year-on-year, SREA said.