Bolivian cement demand falls 34% in 4M20

Cement consumption in Bolivia has declined 34.2 per cent YoY in the 4M20 as a result of the quarantine imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Bolivian statistics agency, INE. Total consumption in the January-April 2020 period reached 787,586t.

In January demand was 10.2 per cent YoY to 303,589t while in February consumption fell 11.3 per cent YoY to 262,895t. However, on 22 March the Bolivian imposed a 14-day lockdown, which was extended to 30 April and again to 11 May. As a result, cement use was down 29.8 per cent YoY to 192,332t in March, followed by a 90 per cent contraction of the market in April, when only 28,770t was sold.

Production
Cement production decreased by 27.6 per cent YoY in the 4M20 to 863,893t, down from 1,192,836t in the 4M19, reports INE.

While output in January advanced by 29.5 per cent to 392,217t, this trend reversed the following month when volumes leaving Bolivian cement plants were down 20 per cent YoY to 250,821t. In March output fell 22 per cent YoY to 215,629t while in April 98.3 per cent less cement was produced than the previous year as the domestic production volume fell to 5226t.