Spain: cement consumption falls

Cement consumption in Spain fell by 7.5 per cent in May, reaching 965,465t, 78,535t less than a year ago and the lowest comparable figure since May 1965, according to the latest figures of Oficemen, the Spanish cement association.
 
During the first five months of the year cement consumption declined  by 2.7 per cent YoY to 4.478Mt, 122,792t less than in the same period of 2015.
 
According to Aniceto Zaragoza, CEO of Oficemen, the cement sector is being punished "by the absence of measures to promote the recovery of public works, unlike the case in other economic sectors and industries which have more institutional support.
 
"The consumption of cement in public works is now the lowest since the beginning of the historical series 25 years ago," Mr Zaragoza said, adding that "it is necessary to reconcile the deficit reduction with solutions for economic growth, which cannot happen only by the thinning of investment in public works. We are talking about basic services, such as maintenance of transport routes, supply and purification of water, hospitals, schools, community centres and so on, without which we cannot work or advance our society.”