Argentine market expands 4% in May

Argentina’s cement consumption advanced 4.3 per cent YoY to 964,762t in May 2019 from 924,211t in May 2018, according to the latest data by the country’s cement association, AFCP.

Market demand was entirely met by domestic production in May 2019, unlike in the year-ago period when 554t was imported. In addition, cement producers in Argentina exported 8891t of cement, up 49 per cent YoY.

January-May 2019
In the January-May 2019 period domestic demand slipped 6.9 per cent to 4.601Mt, down from 4.942Mt in the 5M18. No cement imports entered the country in the first five months of this year (5M18: 60,576t).

Output by local cement producers slipped 5.4 per cent to 4.647Mt, down from 4.915Mt in the 5M18. However, exports increased to 46,546t, ahead by 37.9 per cent YoY.