Spain's cement demand slips, exports drop 25% in August

Cement demand in Spain declined 1.4 per cent YoY to 1,089,617t in August, according to Oficemen, the country’s cement association. In addition to lower domestic sales, exports have dropped by a quarter, registering a fall for 27 consecutive months.

In the first eight months of 2019 cement consumption increased 9.3 per cent YoY to 9,749,344t with exports decreasing 23.4 per cent. “An even more striking figure, if we take into account that imports have grown 87.3 per cent from January to August, with 288,640t more imported than last year,” explains Oficemen President, Víctor García Brosa.

“Again, to the practical paralysis of the domestic market is added the loss of competitiveness of the sector with respect to manufacturers from other European countries, north Africa or Asia (Turkey in particular), where they have lower energy costs. A fact that not only penalises our exports, but has opened the door in recent months to the entry of products from non-EU countries, where they do not have a decarbonation agenda such as that of the European Union, and in which no CO₂ emissions are penalised fiscally,” concludes García Brosa.