Peruvian cement market expands 9% in July

Peru’s cement consumption increased 9.1 per cent YoY to 983,000t in July 2019 when compared with the previous-year’s equivalent month, which saw demand at 901,000t, according to the country’s cement association, Asocem.

Output from Asocem members edged up by 4.9 per cent to 858,000t in July 2019 when compared with an output of 818,000t in July 2018.

Domestic supply was supplemented by 52,100t of cement, down 35 per cent YoY from 80,600t in July 2018 while clinker imports disappeared from the domestic market.

In terms of cement exports, 19,300t were supplied to overseas customers, up four per cent YoY from 18,700t in the year-ago period. In addition, clinker export sales advanced by two per cent YoY to 71,700t in July 2019 from 70,600t in July 2018.

January-July 2019
In the year-to-date, demand in the Peruvian cement market reached 6.506Mt, up 4.3 per cent when compared with 6.24Mt in the 7M18.

Asocem members produced 5.877Mt of cement between January-July 2019, reflecting a 5.6 per cent increase when compared with the 7M18, when 5.565Mt were produced.

Cement imports in the first seven months of 2019 decreased 7.6 per cent YoY to 492,000t from 532,800t in January-July 2018. Clinker imports saw a 14.2 per cent fall to 321,000t in the 7M19 from 374,000t in the 7M18.

Peruvian cement producers exported 118,700t of cement in January-July 2019, down 27.5 per cent YoY from 163,800t in the 7M18. Clinker exports declined 15.6 per cent to 523,500t YoY from 620,100t in the equivalent period of 2018.