Cement sales by Paraguay’s state cement company INC increased by 21 per cent to 4.8m bags in June when compared with the same month last year.

January cement sales peaked at 1,145,623 bags but notably dropped to 699,330 the following month – a trend which continued in March when INC delivered 577,623. Fortunately, sales picked up in April as the company sold 802,646 bags. However, June showed an 11 per cent MoM decrease from 884,441 bags in May to 787,217 bags as rain affected building work.

In addition, imports from Brazil and Argentina have put pressure on local sales. From January to May, cement imports totalled 3,689,126 bags.

For the year to date, INC’s cement sales reach 4,897,479 bags, up from 4,051,637 noted in 1H12.