Cement News tagged under: South America

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Paraguay’s INC ensures cement supply for public works

17 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Paraguay’s Industria Nacional de Cemento (INC) is guaranteeing the supply of cement to public works during the COVID-19 health emergency, reports the official news agency, Agencia de Información Paraguaya (AIP). In March and April 2020 it sold 1,392,612 bags of cement, with a daily production of 50,000 bags, or around 2500tpd. At present, the company is on track to supply the market with 0.6Mta. INC head, Ernesto Benítez, told AIP that the company plans to ensure the requirement of public ...

Peru’s cement demand plummets by 69% in May

16 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Cement consumption in Peru fell by 69.1 per cent YoY to 298,300t in May 2020, according to the country’s cement association, Asocem. Cement production fell by 70 per cent to 263,000t in May 2020 when compared with May 2019 but recovered considerably when compared with April 2020 when COVID-19 impacted operations at the country’s cement plants. Clinker output fell 93.9 per cent YoY to 46,000t. Domestic production was supplemented in May 2020 by 32,000t of cement imports, down 35.1 per cen...

Chilean cement demand down 23% in April

12 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Cement consumption in Chile contracted by 22.9 per cent YoY to 268,319t in April 2020 from 348,151t in April 2019, according to the Chilean construction chamber, CChC. In the January-April 2020 period, demand for cement in the South American country declined 10.7 per cent YoY to 1,276,105t. In the 4M19, 1,428,225t of cement was sold on the domestic market.

Start-up of Fancesa project postponed to 1Q21

10 June 2020, Published under Cement News

The coronavirus pandemic has seen a readjustment of the work schedule of the new plant being built in Sucre, Bolivia, by Fancesa as COVID-19 forced a 70-day quarantine upon the project. Start-up of the cement plant is now expected in the first quarter of 2021. While the project currently stands at 91 per cent completion, the remaining share of the work is the “most complicated”, according to Armin Cortez, chairman of the Board. "It should be remembered that we have had setbacks not only d...

Brazil's cement demand rises 3% in May

09 June 2020, Published under Cement News

The Brazilian cement market expanded by three per cent YoY to 4.761Mt in May 2020, according to the country’s cement association, SNIC. Between January-May, dispatches slipped 0.3 per cent YoY to 21,683Mt. The volume of sales per working day was 211,600t, up 9.7 per cent when compared with May 2019 and by 13.7 per cent when compared with April 2019. In the 5M20, sales per working day edged up 0.9 per cent YoY. While building material stores fell sharply in March, they have since recovere...

Colombian cement market contracts 76% in April

02 June 2020, Published under Cement News

Dispatches of grey cement in Colombia declined 75.6 per cent to 241,900t in April 2020 from 991,100t in April 2019, according to the national statistics office, DANE. Consumption in some of the country’s key cement markets were particularly hit. Sales in Antioquia were down 13.3 per cent, followed by Bogotá (-9.8 per cent), Cundinamarca (-6.8 per cent) and Valle del Cauca (-6.5 per cent) Deliveries to the retail sector fell by 64.5 per cent, while ready-mix concrete companies reduced thei...

Peruvian cement consumption plummets in April

19 May 2020, Published under Cement News

Peru’s cement market sharply contracted to 5700t in April 2020, down from 883,000t in April 2019 and from 488,000t in March 2020, according to Asocem, the country’s cement association. Cement production fell 98.7 per cent YoY to 10,000t in April 2020 from 811,000t in April 2019 and 97.5 per cent MoM from 419,000t in March 2020. There was no clinker output from Peru’s cement producer in April 2020. In April 2019 clinker production stood at 796,000t while in the previous month 352,000t of ...

Paraguay sees unexpected uptick in demand

19 May 2020, Published under Cement News

Paraguay-based Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) saw an unexpected surge in demand between 4-8 May 2020 with average sales of 79,755 bags/day as distribution companies collected a backlog of deliveries and bought extra volumes as they anticipated the easing of lockdown measures. INC had to buy 40,000t of imported clinker recently, according to Esmerk Latin American News. In April 2020 sales plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colombia: market in transition

18 May 2020, Published under Cement News

Following a poor performance in recent years, the Colombian cement sector seems to be on the cusp of a new era. Although the impact of the coronavirus pandemic is yet to be understood, a steady pipeline of construction projects over the next few years should support rising cement prices and a positive cement demand forecast, argues Bancolombia. By Jairo Julian Aquedelo Restrepo, Bancolombia, Colombia. Ecocementos is Colombia’s newest cement market entrant having started operations in ...

Chilean cement demand drops 7% in 1Q20

15 May 2020, Published under Cement News

After remaining largely stable at 332,905t  in February 2020 when compared with February 2019, Chile’s cement market contracted by 13.6 per cent YoY in March to 344,098t from 398,132t in March 2019, according to the Chilean Chamber of Construction and Cement (CChC). In the first quarter of 2020, dispatches were down 6.7 per cent YoY to 1,007,786t from 1,080,074t in the 1Q19.