Chinese cement production drops 12%

China’s cement production in the opening quarter of 2022 has fallen by 12.1 per cent YoY, according to Fitch Ratings. This is being attributed to ongoing lockdowns due to the pandemic, which is curbing production of basic materials including steel that has seen a 10.5 per cent drop in production over the same period.

The country is also seeing subdued construction activity as the property sector remains weak and high input costs continue to inflate product prices, such as cement, steel and aluminium.  

Looking ahead to the 2Q22, Fitch expects cement output to rebound strongly as the current tight pandemic restrictions are lifted and normal construction activity resumes.