The data of the Cement Barometer managed by Oficemen for May 2018 have registered an interannual growth of cement consumption in Catalonia of 12%, which represents a 2% drop compared to the previous month. In absolute terms, the estimated consumption of cement in the period June 2017 – May 2018 has been 1.95 million tons.
This deceleration in the demand of the domestic market coincides with the progressive loss of competitiveness of Catalan companies compared with other countries. This has translated, in practice, into a fall of about 8% of exports in the last year compared to the previous year. In the last 12 months, exports of cement and clinker have added 2.3 million tons.
The lack of competitiveness in international markets has caused a decrease in cement production in Catalonia of 12% during the last 12 months, which stood at 3.14 million tons. The costs of electricity and the high price of CO2 emission rights penalize the Catalan cement industry, which must assume higher production costs than other countries in our socio-economic environment.