Colombian cement market contracts 7% in August

Cement consumption in Colombia declined 7.3 per cent to 1.103Mt in August 2023 from 1.19Mt in August 2022, according to the national statistics office, DANE.

Contributing to this overall trend, bulk sales were down 9.6 per cent YoY while bagged cement sales decreased by 6.2 per cent YoY.

The drop was led by the building companies and contractors segment, which reduced their off-take by 19.9 per cent YoY during the period, while concrete companies reported a 5.9 per cent drop in requirement. Sales to the retail segment were down 4.1 per cent YoY.

Output from the country’s cement plants fell by 4.5 per cent YoY to 1.179Mt in August 2023 from 1.234Mt in the year-ago period.

January-August 2023
In the first eight months of 2023 demand decreased by 5.6 per cent to 8.452Mt from 8.952Mt in the 8M22. During the eight-month period bulk sales fell by 2.5 per cent, but bagged cement sales decreased 7.1 per cent YoY.

Deliveries to the building companies and contractors fell by 16.4 per cent YoY while the retail sector reduced its requirement by 5.6 per cent YoY in the 8M23. However, dispatches to concrete companies edged up 1.7 per cent YoY during this period.

Cement production slipped by 3.3 per cent YoY to 9.285Mt in the January-August period 2023 from 9.606Mt in the equivalent period of the previous year.