Moroccan cement demand declines 4% in January

Cement consumption in Morocco fell 4.4 per cent in January to 1,114,857t from 1,166,184t in January 2016, according to the country’s Ministry of Housing and Urbanisation.

In the country’s largest market, Casablanca-Settat, sales fell 8.6 per cent to 254,328t. However, a more positive development was noted in Marrakech-Safi, which saw demand expand by 9.6 per cent to 155,173t. Rabat-Salé-Kénitra saw demand slip 1.25 per cent to 146,466t while in Tanger-Tétouan-Al Houceima the offtake was 4.5 per cent lower YoY at 142,401t. Souss-Massa and Oriental reported a 7.2 per cent decline to 101,790t and a 2.5 per cent drop to 100,232t, respectively. The small markets of Laayoun-S.Elhamra and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab saw demand rise by 21.3 and 47 per cent to 26,722t and 10,106t, respectively.