Spanish demand falls 22% in first nine months

Cement consumption in the first nine months of this year fell by 22 per cent YoY to 8.3Mt, latest data from domestic association Oficemen shows. In September, demand fell to 947,170t, a decline of nine per cent YoY.

"The continuing cuts in public works investments are a blow to the activity and jobs in the construction sector, an industry that has been generating wealth and jobs in our country and a benchmark for global efficiency," CEO of Oficemen, Aniceto Zaragoza, said.

Citing data from statistics agency Eurostat, Zaragoza highlighted that in 2013 Spain had the lowest ratio of public investment to GDP in the EU, given its size and population – 51 per cent lower than in Germany and 60 per cent lower than the UK. Moreover, "figures planned for 2014 are even worse, " he warned.