Cement imports surge in Costa Rica

The import of cement into Costa Rica has skyrocketed in the past two years, according to El Financiero Costa Rica.

In 2014 the Latin American country imported 10,418t of cement but in 2016 this figure had increased more than tenfold to 107,294t.

The steep rise has been particularly noted since 2015, when the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) changed the regulations regarding hydraulic cements, changing storage conditions and the flexibility of the marketing period.

In addition, the entry of Sinocem has seen Chinese imports nearly double and has changed the competitive landscape for the country’s two cement producers, LafargeHolcim and Cemex Latin American Holdings, which operate a combined 2.2Mta of cement capacity in Costa Rica. Sinocem started importing product at the start of 2015 and by 2016, the importer had an import share of two-thirds of total imports into Costa Rica.

Cement prices have decreased from around CRC6600/50kg bag (US$11.47/50kg bag) between February-April 2015 to a low of CRC5844 in December 2016 but has since recovered to around CRC6244 in July.