The production of cement in Venezuela is less than half of the country’s demand of 18Mt, according to El Impulso. Output is currently down from 9Mt to 4Mta, due to issues with electrical power supply, equipment and inputs, said Orlando Chirinos, president of the Federation of Cement Workers (Fetracemento) and secretary general of the cement workers syndicate of Lara state.

In terms of equipment, cement producers face challenges in obtaining refractory bricks, metallic grinding media and slurry pumps.

The country has nine cement plants in Maracaibo, Táchira, Barcelona, Monagas, Guayana, Falcón, San Sebastián de Guárico, Lara and Trujillo. These are reportedly out of service as bringing them back online would require all energy currently used by the country’s population, according to El Impulso.

The price of cement in Venezuela is currently set at BOB24,000/bag, but this does not cover production costs, said Mr Chirinos.