Paraguay’s Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) sold 1,003,000 bags of cement in January, of which 87 per cent was sold from its Villeta plant, according to Derlys Ortiz, the company’s commercial manager. Sales from Vallemí represented 13 per cent, or 133,000 bags.

In January 2017 the company sold 1.1m bags and therefore, this year’s first-month sales were down eight per cent.

In 2017 INC sold 13,344,580 bags, up from previous year’s 13,202,803 bags, and setting a new record. Sales in November were particularly brisk at 1,249,065 bags. Jorge Méndez, INC’s president, said that the increase in sales generates an important income for the entity that is financially in a positive way. "In November and December we have registered good marketing of our products, a sign that we did a good job at the institution," said Mr Méndez.