According to CEMBUREAU’s 2016 Activity Report published yesterday, European cement production in the EU 28 further slightly recovered in 2015 (167.2Mt), confirming the cautious upward trend started in 2013 (166.6Mt) after the dramatic fall in the crisis period. Cement consumption has risen slightly from 2014 to 2015 within both the EU28 and the CEMBUREAU region, the report shows.

Total world cement production is estimated at 4.6bnt. The CEMBUREAU region’s share of world production fell by 0.1 to 5.3 per cent, with China and India topping the list.

CEMBUREAU highlighted that developments in terms of cement and clinker imports and exports in the EU28 have shown a sharp surge in exports over the last five years, as producers searched for new markets after the crisis. This development stabilised just below the 50Mt mark, with 48Mt exported in 2014 and 47Mt in 2015. Imports remained at 20.5Mt, translating into a net export of 26.3Mt for the EU28, slightly down from 2014.