Colombian grey cement market contracts 9% in April

Grey cement dispatches in Colombia declined 9.3 per cent YoY to 0.987Mt in April 2023 from 1.089Mt in April 2022, according to the country’s statistics agency, DANE. Bulk cement sales were down 5.6 per cent YoY while bagged sales saw an 11.1 per cent drop.

Construction companies and contractors represented the largest contraction, by 19.9 per cent YoY, followed by the retail sector, where sales were down 9.1 per cent. Ready-mix concrete companies reduced their off take by 2.4 per cent YoY.

Output from domestic cement plants fell 8.5 per cent to 1.112Mt in April 2023 when compared with 1.215Mt in the year-ago period.

January-April 2023
In the first four months of 2023 Colombia’s cement market contracted by 6.3 per cent YoY to 4.138Mt from 4.4117Mt in the January-April 2022 period. Bulk cement sales slipped by 0.9 per cent while bagged sales fell by 8.8 per cent YoY.

Construction companies and contractors reduced their offtake by 16.4 per cent YoY in the 4M23. Sales in the retail sector contracted by 7.8 per cent YoY. However, ready-mix concrete companies increased their purchases by 2.7 per cent YoY.

Production at the country’s cement plants was down by 4.2 per cent to 4.532Mt in the 4M23 from 4.731Mt in the 4M22.