Uruguayan producers sees 18% rise in sales

Total cement sales in the 1Q18 in Uruguay totalled 219,000t, representing an increase of 18 per cent YoY.

Of this total, 74 per cent were sold in the domestic market while some 26 per cent were exported, according to the Chamber of Industry (CIU).

The rise represents the fourth-consecutive quarterly increase in total cement sales following a market contraction that lasted from 2013 to 2017.

“Cement sales in Uruguay have a high orientation to the domestic market and in general terms there is a high correlation between cement sales in tonnes and construction activity (a sector that grew again in the first quarter of 2018) after a long period of retraction),” said the CIU. However, cement sales volumes to the domestic market between January and March fell by three compared to the same period of 2017. Exports have seen a rise of 220 per cent YoY, with Argentina accounting for 86 per cent of total exports, followed by Paraguay (nine per cent) and Brazil (five per cent).

Cement imports have shown significant growth, with a peak of 51,830t in 2016. In the first three months of 2018, they totalled US$1.9m or 25,041t. The main importing company was Compañía Industrializadora de Minerals while the main country of origin was Turkey.

As a result, apparent consumption in the first quarter reached 187,000t, up 12 per cent YoY.