Colombian cement market contracts 2% in December

Grey cement dispatches in Colombia fell 2.3 per cent from 1.079Mt in December 2019 to 1.054Mt in December 2020, according to the country’s statistics agency, DANE. Cement production slipped 1.2 per cent from 1.191Mt in December 2019 from 1.176Mt in December 2020.

Full-year 2020
In 2020 grey cement dispatches declined 10.2 per cent to 11.234Mt from 12.515Mt in 2019. Output from Colombia’s cement plants decreased 8.9 per cent to 11.849Mt in 2020 from 13.013Mt in 2019.

Ready-mix concrete companies reduced their offtake by 23.7 per cent YoYwhile deliveries to construction companies and contractors fell by 10.7 per cent. In the retail sector, dispatches were down 5.2 per cent with other segments reporting a 1.9 per cent drop.

Deliveries in the Bogotá area were down 23.3 per cent while Cundinamarca saw 21.3 per cent less dispatches. The Bolívar cement market contracted by 19.6 per cent while smaller reductions were reported in Valle del Cauca (-8.4 per cent) and Antioquia (-4.9 per cent).

Bulk dispatches were down 16.8 per cent YoY, mainly due to lower volumes being delivered to Bogotá (-29.7 per cent), Cundinamarca (-25.2 per cent) and Antioquia (-13.4 per cent). Bagged cement dispatches saw a 7.2 per cent drop YoY, as deliveries to Bolívar and Cundinamarca were down by 22.7 and 18.3 per cent, respectively. Bogotá saw a 15.1 per cent drop in bagged deliveries, while Valle del Cauca reported a 9.1 per cent fall.