Cement dispatches in Brazil increased 12.3 per cent YoY to 5.142Mt in April 2024 from 4.577Mt in April 2023. Dispatches advanced 5.7 per cent MoM from 4.865Mt in March 2024, when sales fell by 10.4 per cent YoY, according to the country's cement association, SNIC.

While the country's unemployment rate has fallen and wages have increased, cement consumption continues to be affected by high default rates and household debt. In addition, the interest rate persists to be high.

"Given this scenario, real estate financing with resources from savings accounts from the Brazilian Savings and Loan System (SBPE) fell 17.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. The withdrawal of resources from savings has put pressure on the real estate market in search of new funding, which generally has a higher cost of funding, which ends up making property financing more expensive for the middle class. On the other hand, the Minha Casa Minha Vida programme gains traction, resuming its important role in cement demand," says SNIC.

Regional sales
Sales in the southeast, the largest regional market in Brazil, increased 8.2 per cent YoY to 2.351Mt from 2.172Mt in April 2023 and by 5.1 per cent MoM from 2.236Mt in March 2024. In the northeast, volumes were up 16.2 per cent YoY to 1.038Mt in April 2024 from 0.893Mt and by 3.1 per cent from 1.007Mt in March 2024. The south saw a 16.6 per cent market expansion to 0.92Mt in April 2024 from 0.789Mt in April 2023 while when compared with March 2024, there was a seven per cent increase from 0.86Mt. Dispatches in central-western Brazil advanced by nine per cent YoY to 0.593Mt in April 2024, slightly up from the 0.546Mt reported in March 2023. Meanwhile, sales in the country's smallest market, Norte, saw a 34.1 per cent YoY jump to 0.24Mt from 0.179Mt in April 2023 and a 11.1 per cent MoM increase from 0.216Mt in March 2024.

Commenting on the April dispatches, Paulo Camillo Penna, SNIC president, said: “After two consecutive years of falling sales and an idle capacity of around 35%, the Brazilian cement industry hopes to reverse this performance, influenced by advances in housing and infrastructure projects. The sector is betting on the increasing use of cement and concrete in road and urban paving, as municipalities and states, such as Santa Catarina, Paraná, Goiás, Maranhão, Ceará, São Paulo and the Federal District, lead the use of these inputs.”

Exports
Cement exports from Brazil dropped 64.7 per cent YoY to 6000t in April 2024 from 17,000t in April 2023. However, when compared with March 2024, which saw a 80 per cent YoY drop to 3000t, they doubled.  

January-April 2024
In the first four months of 2024, domestic cement sales have edged up 0.4 per cent to 19.387Mt from 19.307Mt in the 4M23.

Of this total, 8.749Mt was sold in the southeast, the only market to report a YoY contraction (-2.2 per cent) when compared with the 4M23, when 8.948Mt of cement was dispatched. In the northeast, sales increased by 0.8 per cent YoY to 4.019Mt in the 4M24 from 2.989Mt while in the south, volumes saw 1.8 per cent uptick to 3.471Mt from 3.41Mt over the same period. Dispatches in the central-western region increased by 4.1 per cent YoY to 2.232Mt in the January-April 2024 period from 2.145Mt in the 4M23. Dispatches in the north advanced 12.4 per cent to 0.916Mt from 0.815Mt in the year-ago period.

Export sales in the January-April 2024 period fell by 65.3 per cent YoY to 26,000t from 75,000t in the 4M23.