Cement producers in Vietnam sold 3.6Mt to the domestic market in January, down 16.28 per cent from the month before due to a stagnant real estate market.

The amount sold represents 7.4 per cent of the full-year target, Vietnam News Brief reported citing data from Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction (MoC).

Exports also fell by 82.8 per cent MoM to 2.3Mt in January 2012, meeting 2.3 per cent of this year’s target.

In 2012, the country’s cement and clinker sales were 53.61Mt, of which 45.5Mt were sold to the domestic market (down 7.1 per cent YoY) while 8.5Mt were exported (up 30 per cent YoY).

This year, sales are expected to rise by 4-5 per cent to reach 56-57Mt, including 48-49Mt of local dispatches and 7.5-8Mt of exports, according to the MoC.