Colombia’s cement market contracts 7% in July

Cement consumption in Colombia declined 6.5 per cent YoY to 1.052Mt in July 2023 when compared with 1.125Mt in July 2022, according to the country’s statistics office, DANE.

In July 2023 sales to construction companies and contractors dropped by 14.6 per cent YoY, while sales to ready-mix concrete companies edged up by 0.3 per cent YoY. The retail sector’s off-take was down by 5.8 per cent YoY.

Bagged cement sales declined by 7.3 per cent YoY in July 2023 while sales of bulk cement saw a 4.8 per cent drop.

Output from Colombian cement plants increased by 1.7 per cent to 1.221Mt in July 2023 from 1.201Mt in July 2022.

January-July 2023
In the first seven months of 2023 cement dispatches in Colombia fell by 5.3 per cent to 7.349Mt from 7.762Mt in the 7M22.

Bagged cement sales saw the biggest drop, by 7.2 per cent, while bulk cement sales slipped by 1.4 per cent YoY in the 7M23.

Construction companies and contractors reduced their sales by 15.9 per cent YoY in the first seven months of 2023, but ready-mix concrete companies increased their off-take by 2.9 per cent YoY.  Sales to the retail sector were down by 5.9 per cent YoY.

Domestic cement production slipped by 3.2 per cent YoY to 8.106Mt in the January-July 2023 when compared with 8.372Mt in the year-ago period.