SNIC comments on Brazil 2009 growth projection comment
The executive secretary of Brazil’s national cement industry union SNIC, Josétáio Carvalho, is not changing sector projections for this year, state news service Agêcia Estado reported.
The sector has an accumulated increase of 15% up to August and should close 2008 with 52Mt, Carvalho said, adding: "For 2009, we were projecting a growth of 8% but that is certainly not going to happen."
Cement firms in Brazil are in an investment phase, he said, which could be complicated if the financial crisis affects the country’s economy.
In 2006, cement consumption reached 41.8Mt. From 2007 on, the majority of cement firms announced aggressive investment plans as they were working at full capacity.
The expansion plans would increase the country’s cement production by 50% in 2012, the report said. Among others, the firms Votorantim, Cauê Itambénd Cimpor all announced investment plans ranging from 100mn reais (US$47.2mn) to more than 3bn reais. Published under Cement News
