Cement demand in Peru increased to 1.022Mt in January 2019, according to the latest figures by the country’s cement association, Asocem. This represents a YoY rise of 9.8 per cent from 0.931Mt reported in January 2018.

Domestic cement dispatches edged up 0.3 per cent YoY in January 2019 to 0.8Mt but were 6.4 per cent lower than in December 2018. To meet national demand, they were supplemented by 11,000t of cement imports, which represents a 82.8 per cent decrease from the year-ago import volume and 92.1 per cent less than in December 2018.

Cement production in January 2019 remained largely stable at 0.806Mt when compared with January 2019 but fell 11 per cent when compared with December 2018. Clinker output reached 0.636Mt, down 4.5 and 30 per cent from the level seen in January 2018 and December 2018, respectively.

Cement exports declined by 36 per cent YoY to 19,000t in January but remained level when compared with December 2018. Clinker exports decreased to zero from 68,000t in January 2018 and 67,000t in December 2018.