Colombian cement consumption rises 8.6% YoY in August

Colombia’s cement market expanded by 8.6 per cent YoY in August to 1.108Mt on the back of increased demand from construction companies and contractors (+21.4 per cent) and ready-mix firms (+9.7 per cent) which accounted for 6.3 percentage points of the increase, according to national statistics office DANE.

Key growth areas during the month were Cesar (+35.2 per cent), Nariño (+26.2 per cent) and Valle del Cauca (+13.2 pe cent). Greater Bogotá, Atlántico and Bolívar noted a rise in demand of 9-10 per cent.

Meanwhile, domestic output grew 7.9 per cent YoY to 1.14Mt.

In the year to date, market growth reached 7.2 per cent as 8.328Mt of cement were dispatched within the country’s borders. Production rose 5.7 per cent to 8.501Mt. In terms of departments, Nariño saw the largest advance with 51.7 per cent, followed by Bolivar (+17.1 per cent) and Antioquia (+10.4 per cent). On the other hand, Santander and Atlántico saw their markets contract by 7.5 and 3.5 per cent, respectively.