Cement consumption in Catalonia in September recorded a slight drop of 0.6%, bringing the year-on-year rate to -4.3% and a volume of 2.1 million tons. These figures confirm the trend towards market stabilization in Catalonia, which, since March, has hovered around this level of consumption, halting a decline that began in November 2022, when annual consumption had exceeded 2.3 million tons.
On the other hand, cement production grew by 15% in September, placing the year-on-year rate at -0.3% and a volume of 3.31 million tons. Cement and clinker exports also remained flat in September (with a 0.3% increase), but they still show a drastic decline over the past 12 months, with only 1.5 million tons, representing a 25% drop.
Beyond market conditions, the industry’s efforts are now focused on decarbonization processes. In fact, Catalan companies as a whole are working on updating their Roadmap with the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Access to new technologies and work methodologies should allow for accelerated progress in this fight against climate change.
However, Salvador Fernández Capo, president of Ciment Català, the sector’s employers’ association, warns that “industrial projects associated with sustainability involve extraordinarily high investments,” which the sector is willing to make. But “the realization of these projects requires a change in the dynamics and efficiency of public administrations” when it comes to processing, for example, European innovation aid (Next Generation funds). Without this streamlining, there won’t be enough time to address either climate change mitigation or adaptation, and there is even a risk of losing access to that European funding.