Rebound expected in Thailand after lacklustre 2023 

Thai domestic cement sales, excluding clinker, came in at 3.74Mt in December 2023, up 28.1 per cent MoM and 25.5 per cent YoY, according to Thailand’s Office of Industrial Economics (OIE). For 2023 as a whole, domestic cement sales amounted 38.12Mt, down 1.4 per cent YoY from 38.65Mt a year earlier. “Sales volume shrank due to the rising cost of living. As a result, consumers' purchasing power decreased”, according to OIE. 
 
Cement production excluding clinker rose a modest 0.1 per cent YoY to 42.74Mt from 42.68Mt in 2022 on the back of “advance orders to support the expansion of government projects and real estate construction projects”. 
 
Meanwhile, the value of cement exports excluding clinker was US$160.93m, down 14.9 per cent YoY from 2022, amid lingering weakness in key export markets Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and the Philippines. Imports were valued at US$79.37m, up 18.5 per cent YoY. “Most of the imports were high-quality cement from The Netherlands.”
 
Outlook
The OIE sees growth in the cement industry in 2024 thanks to “investment in large government projects, especially projects related to the Eastern Economic Corridors (EEC), including projects to expand road transport routes and rail systems throughout the country. In addition, private housing construction is likely to recover in line with gradual economic improvement. Export to key export markets is expected to grow again, especially to countries in the CLMV group, as the governments of the said countries are developing large infrastructure construction projects in the country…Additionally, cement prices in 2024 may increase following the price of production factors such as energy and raw materials.”