Philippines 1Q16 cement sales up 13%

Philippines cement sales increased by 12.8 per cent YoY in the first quarter of 2016, according to Ernesto Ordoñez, President of the Cement Manufacturers' Association of the Philippines (CeMAP).
Volumes rose from 5.7Mt in 1Q15 to 6.43Mt.

"Demand will continue to be strong, especially with presumptive President Duterte saying that infrastructure will remain a high priority during his administration," said Mr Ordoñez.

For this year, the Aquino administration has allotted an infrastructure budget of PHP364.7bn (US$7.79bn) under its Department of Public Works and Highways, reflecting an increase of 33 per cent. The current administration aims to increase the infrastructure budget to five per cent of GDP by 2016 from 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2010.

The industry expected continued strong demand as construction activity in both the public and private sector is forecast to remain robust.