Cement consumption in Catalonia during 2020 (January to September) has decreased by 13% compared to the same period in 2019, mainly as consequence of the fall in economic activity due to Covid-19. However, the data for September indicate a certain normalization of the domestic market, which has been maintained, with a slight increase of 1.6% compared to the previous year.
Salvador Fernández Capo, president of Ciment Català, warns that “now, it will be necessary to see the effects that the completion of works in progress will have on the data for the coming months if the forecasts for the start of new infrastructures are not accelerated, as in the Mediterranean corridor, commuter networks or access to ports, which are essential to ensure the future competitiveness of our country”.
For now, in September there has been a sharp decline in exports from Catalan factories, which have been cut by almost half. An important cause of this is the effect that the market of greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO2, which does not exist in other cement exporting countries outside the EU, has had on competitiveness.
Furthermore, factories in Spain are also affected by the high cost of electricity compared to the rest of Europe, which still penalizes them more when it comes to selling their product abroad.