Vietnam sold 52.11Mt of cement and clinker in the first nine months of this year, rising three per cent from a year earlier and fulfilling 73 per cent of the whole-year target, the country’s Building Material Department under the Ministry of Construction said.

Of the sum, 40.26Mt of cement were sold at the domestic market, up eight per cent YoY, while exports fell 12 per cent YoY to 11.85Mt and fulfilling 62.4 per cent of the full-year target.

In September, Vietnam’s cement and clinker sales was down nine per cent from August and 74 per cent from a year earlier to 5.37Mt, including 4.27Mt of domestic sales and 1.1Mt of exports.

The decline in domestic sales was mostly attributed to the rainy season which affected the progress of construction projects, the department noted.

The ministry predicted Vietnam's sales of cement and clinker to rise 1.5-4 per cent on year to between 72-74Mt in 2015, of which domestic sales will rise 4.5-6.5 per cent to 53-54Mt and the exports will be at between 19-20Mt.