Spanish cement consumption expands 7% YoY in April

The Cement Demand Index, presented by Oficemen, the Spanish cement producers’ association, has registered an increase of 7.1 per cent in April when compared with April 2018. This represents a fall of nearly two percentage points when compared with March 2018, according to the association.

Between May 2018-April 2019 total cement demand in Spain reached 13.57Mt, up 0.9Mt in the previous-year period.

However, export growth continues to trend into negative territory. In the 12 months up to March, volumes fell by 18 per cent YoY to 7.46Mt of cement and clinker.

The 1Q19 has also seen clinker imports rise to 49,000t. This compares to 1800tpm on average in the previous 10 months. "From Oficemen we would like to warn of the arrival of imported products from non-EU countries that emit, on average, eight per cent more CO2, and in which there is no decarbonation agenda equivalent to that of the European Union", said Oficemen President, Jesús Ortiz.