Paraguay Minister of Industry: INC needs to import cement urgently

Gustavo Leite, Paraguay’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, said yesterday that there exists an alternative scenario that would see the country’s main cement producer, Industria Nacional de Cemento (INC) “urgently” become a cement importer. While the cement maker is planning to expand its production to meet national demand, Mr Leite said it will take around 3-4 years to build a new cement plant and that therefore, imports are crucial.

Due to speculation and the supply shortage, a bag of cement has rocketed to PYG80,000 in some cases. INC head, Jorge Mendez, has been summoned by the country’s president, Horacio Cartes, who insisted there would be no supply shortages and the cement prices would rise no further.

INC production has been plagued by technical difficulties for some time.