Venezuela imports 24,000t of cement

Although government spokesmen assure Venezuela’s cement production is sufficient to meet local market demand, the country has imported 23,991t of cement from Cuba.

The port of Puerto Cabello saw the arrival of 12,991t of Portland cement Type I on 22 May, five days after 10,999t of Portland cement Type III was received by the same port. Both vessels left the Cuban town of Cienfuegos. In addition, Venezuela is also increasingly importing white cement.

The imported volumes are destined for public works construction projects such as the Gran Misión Vivienda housing programme.

In the first half of this year, state-owned Cementos de Venezuela, Fábrica Nacional de Cementos and Industria Venezolana de Cementos all have dealt with operational issues, which saw the output of these plants decline.