Venezuela’s cement industry is currently producing around 1Mta, or 10 per cent of its nominal capacity, according to the President of the Cement Workers Federation (Fetracemento), Orlando Chirinos in La Nación newspaper.

The union leader compared the figures the figures with the output figure of 8Mt in 2008, which at the time represented a capacity utilisation rate of 85 per cent of nominal capacity.

“In 2011, after nationalization, the per capita consumption per Venezuelan was 350 kilos, and the national demand was above 18 million metric tons of cement, indeed, for that year Venezuela imported cement to be able to meet the national demand,” said Mr Chirinos.