Peru cement sales down 1%, exports up 50% in March

Peru’s cement dispatches fell one per cent YoY to 806,000t in March as public spending was down and rains affected the construction industry, according to cement association Asocem. Regional and municipal governments saw their spending cut by 30 and 61 per cent, respectively.

Output in the country’s cement plants increased two per cent to 861,000t when compared with March 2014. A 50 per cent rise in exports in the month helped producers to compensate for the lower domestic sales.

Looking ahead, not much change is expected for the second quarter. Key projects such as Line 2 of the Lima Metro, the southern gas pipeline and the Talara Refinery have been postponed until 2016 and private investment is affected by external and internal factors.

"The second quarter we don’t view so optimistically. It is expected that regional and local governments are consolidated and revive public spending, but this could take longer than expected, “ according to Asocem.