Cement sales in Brazil increased by 2.9 per cent to 4.686Mt in December 2024 from 4.555Mt in December 2023, reports the country's cement association, SNIC.
Sales volumes in Brazil's largest market, the southeast, slipped by 0.8 per cent YoY to 2.063Mt in December 2024 from 2.079Mt, but in the northeast volumes advanced by 14.3 per cent YoY to 1.138Mt from 0.996Mt over the same period. In the south sales declined by 0.3 per cent to 0.717Mt from 0.719Mt, while in the central-west a 1.7 per cent YoY increase to 0.524Mt from 0.515Mt was reported. The country's smallest market, the north saw a 0.8 per cent YoY decrease in sales to 0.244Mt from 0.246Mt in December 2023.
SNIC attributes this market growth to continued improvement in the labour market and the population's income as well as the positive impact of the resumption of construction work on the Minha Casa, Minha Vida programme on the real estate sector.
However, it highlighted continued challenges such as increasing labour costs, high interest rates, debt and default rates. The changes in housing financing have also made it difficult to obtain new loans, said SNIC. The resources available for financing through the Brazilian Savings and Loan System are increasingly restricted, which has led to the need to expand other forms of funding for real estate credit, which can meet the growing demand for housing.
Exports fell by 55.6 per cent YoY to 4000t in December 2024 from 9000t in December 2023.
Full-year 2024 sales
In 2024 the Brazilian cement market expanded by 4.2 per cent with sales reaching 64.652Mt. In 2023 domestic sales volumes stood at 62.074Mt.
The north saw the largest increase in sales as volumes advanced 10.2 per cent YoY to 3.106Mt from 2.818Mt. In the northeast, sales were up 7.5 per cent YoY to 13.559Mt from 12.509Mt in 2023 while in the south demand rose by 3.5 per cent YoY to 10.748Mt from 10.382Mt in the year-ago period. Dispatches to the southeast picked up by 2.8 per cent to 29.718Mt in 2024 from 28.904Mt in 2023. The central-west saw a minor advance of 2.2 per cent to 7.521Mt in 2024 from 7.361Mt in 2023.
“The performance of the Brazilian cement industry in 2024 was in line with SNIC projections, which indicated a boom in the real estate market, mainly due to the resumption of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida Programme and transportation infrastructure works with the expansion of the use of concrete pavement in the urban and road networks. The sector consumed 64.7Mt of cement, the same level as in 2021. It is essential to have a favourable business environment to stimulate the development of housing and infrastructure, ensuring the growth of the construction sector,” said Paulo Camillo Penna, president of SNIC.
In addition, extreme weather conditions throughout the year, with above-average temperatures and rainfall, such as the environmental tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul and drought in some regions, have impacted construction schedules and cement sales, added the association.
While the domestic market saw significant growth, exports dropped by 67.6 per cent YoY to 66,000t from 204,000t in 2023.
