Argentine April dispatches and consumption advance

Local cement producers in Argentina have reported a rise in dispatches (local and exports) for April 2013 whilst consumption on the local market has also demonstrated healthy gains, latest figures from the country's cement association, AFCP, show.

In April 2013, Argentine Portland cement factories dispatched 975,081t of cement, including exports, representing an increase of 3.9 per cent compared to the previous month. Of the April 2013 total, 946,202t were destined for the local market while 28,879t were exported.

On an annual comparative basis, sales in April 2013 were up by 22.1 per cent compared to the 798,512t dispatched in April 2012.

Accumlated sales for the January-April 2013 period totalled 3.67Mt, a rise of almost seven per cent compared to the 3.43Mt recorded in the first four months of 2012.

Domestic consumption (including imports) in April 2013 was 946,722t, up 3.4 per cent compared to the previous month and 21 per cent higher than the 782,378t recorded in April 2012. Year-to-date consumption stood at 3.56Mt (as at end-April 2013), a rise of six per cent on the same period of last year when domestic demand was 3.36Mt.