Bolivia's cement market contracted 7.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 as local consumption fell to 881,032t from 956,391t in the 1Q24, according to the country's statistics institute, INE.
In March 2025 demand dropped by 15.6 per cent to 253,403t from 300,728t after a brief respite in February, when the market expanded by 5.1 per cent to 302,447t from 287,728t. This followed an 11.8 per cent decrease in consumption in January to 325,182t from 368,510t in the year-ago period.
Mixed bag for local demand
In terms of geographical regions, Bolivia's largest market, Cochabamba, contracted by 6.7 per cent YoY to 247,370t in the 1Q25 from 270,343t in the 1Q24. Santa Cruz, the country's second largest market, reported consumption down by 19.9 per cent YoY to 197,818t from 247,061t while demand in La Paz saw six per cent increase to 247,370t from 233,301t in the 1Q24. Combined, these three markets account for 79.2 per cent of total cement demand in Bolivia.
Meanwhile in Chuquisaca, cement consumption dropped 16.7 per cent YoY to 47,541t from 57,090t in January-March 2025. In Tarija demand saw a 6.5 per cent decrease to 43,612t in the 1Q25 from 46,630t in the year-ago period while in Oruro the market contracted sharply by 27.9 per cent to 33,216t from 46,050t over the same period. Consumption in Potosí edged up by 2.1 per cent YoY to 43,417t from 42,520t. Demand in the country's smallest markets, Beni and Pando, saw also a positive trend in consumption. In Beni the market expanded by 12.4 per cent to 10,887t from 9687t while in Pando demand surged 34.5 per cent to 5004t from 3720t.
