Cement consumption jumps to 11%

Domestic cement consumption is recording double-digit growth rates this year. According to the just released by the Indian CMA (Cement Manufacturer’s Association) numbers, the consumption grew a record 11 per cent for the nine months ended December ‘05 to 97.8Mt.

If cement shows double-digit growth rates in ‘06, it will only be the second time in the last 10 years that this has happened. The last time India witnessed an over 10 per cent growth rate was in FY00. In the last 30 years, it has happened only eight times. The construction boom and rising public infrastructure investment have fuelled domestic consumption in recent years.

In the current financial year, the South constituted the largest market. Of the total domestic consumption of 97.8Mt, South India had a market share of 29.2 per cent, followed by North (20.2 per cent), West (18.7 per cent), East (16.8 per cent) and Central (14.9 per cent). Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh remained the biggest markets with respective market shares of 12.1 per cent and 10.4 per cent.