Peru: cement sales fall 8.4% in May

Cement dispatches in Peru fell by 8.4 per cent YoY in May to 779,000t, reflecting an accelerating contraction of the domestic market, according to cement association Asocem. In April sales decreased 7.1 per cent YoY to 767,000t. Output from Peru’s cement plants dropped 5.7 per cent from 887,000t in May 2014 to 836,000t.

In the past 12 months domestic consumption slipped by 0.2 per cent while total output fell by 0.1 per cent.

The recent lack of market activity has been attributed to weak private investment and government policies which saw public investment reduced by 12 per cent between January and May 2015.

Going forward, the cement association expects cement demand to increase in 2H15 as several megaprojects are set to push up cement use. Line 2 of Lima’s metro system is forecast to require 1.2Mt of cement in the next four years with the first stage accounting for 100,000t. In addition, the Talara refinery is estimated to require a further 150,000-200,000t over 2-3 years.