Spain’s cement demand holds at just below 11Mt in 2014

Cement consumption in Spain reached 10.79Mt in 2014, largely stable when compared to the 10.74Mt recorded in 2013, latest figures released by domestic cement association Oficemen show. The bottoming out from a steady decline experienced in recent years was helped by the 12.5 per cent expansion of the domestic market in December.

Output in Spain’s cement factories increased 5.4 per cent YoY to 13.91Mt from 13.2Mt in 2013. However, in December, inventories fell as production decreased by nine per cent to 880,829t.

On the export front, shipments increased by nearly 32 per cent to 9.59Mt, nearly 2.5Mt more than the previous years.

"This export figure, which almost equals the domestic demand, is the result of the effort that the Spanish cement industry is undertaking to improve its cost and productivity, which is even more remarkable, considering the electricity costs, well above the European average, that our companies bear, "says the CEO of Oficemen, Aniceto Zaragoza.