Peruvian demand up 2% in December

Peru’s cement market expanded by 1.6 per cent to 996,000t in December 2019, according to the country’s cement association, Asocem.

Cement production increased 1.2 per cent YoY but slipped 1.4 per cent MoM to 916,000t while clinker production fell by 13.3 per cent YoY and 6.3 per cent MoM to 792,000t in December 2019. Total dispatches, which include exports, increased 2.5 per cent to 895,000t when compared with December 2018 but declined 4.4 per cent MoM.

In terms of exports, cement volumes improved 20.1 per cent MoM and 3.2 per cent YoY to reach a total of 19,400t. Clinker volumes were down 1.4 and 50.8 per cent MoM and YoY, respectively, to 33,000t.

Domestic output was supplemented by 98,000t of cement, down 28.2 per cent YoY but up 48.7 per cent when compared with November 2019. Clinker imports fell to 43,600t, representing a drop of 1.2 per cent YoY and 50.4 per cent MoM.

Full-year 2019
Cement demand in Peru advanced 4.7 per cent to 11.724Mt in 2019 when compared with 11.201Mt in 2018.

Total production for the year increased 5.2 per cent to 10.574Mt when compared with 2018, when 10.049Mt were produced.

Cement exports declined by a quarter in 2019 to 198,500t when compared with 2018, when 265,800t were exported. Clinker exports saw a 21 per cent YoY drop to 709,100t (2018: 896,900t).

Cement imports decreased 21 per cent to 772,000t in 2019 from 981,500t in 2018 with 94 per cent being shipped in by Vietnam. A further four per cent originated in Mexico while Chile dispatched two per cent.

Clinker imports were down by a fifth to 625,000t in 2019 (2018: 784,700t). South Korea was the main importer of clinker, accounting for a share of 70 per cent. Vietnam imported 14 per cent of total clinker imports, followed by Ecuador (seven per cent) and Japan (five per cent).