The Generalitat’s Industrial Observatory has been producing the Annual Report on Industry in Catalonia for over 30 years. The study includes a detailed analysis of the country’s 21 most important industrial sectors. In the study for 2023, Ciment Català has collaborated on the chapter Building materials.
The Director of Enterprise and Labor, Roger Torrent, presided over the presentation on 25 July of the Annual report on industry in Catalonia 2023. The study highlights that the Generalitat government has, only through the Directorate-General for Industry, a total of €245.8 million to the sector during the current parliamentary term (2021-2024), which has generated an investment of €1.8 billion, the creation of 5,401 jobs and the maintenance of 43,076.
The contribution of Ciment Català to the report recalls that, in the decade between 1976 and 1985, Catalonia was one of the world’s leading exporters of clinker and cement, and excess production was exported, but this is no longer the case and frees up almost 50% of the operational capacity of all the Catalan factories. This change is a consequence of the costs of CO₂ emission allowances to be purchased for manufacturing and export, and that cement produced in certain countries outside the emission allowance market is produced more cheaply. This makes it difficult for cement manufactured in Catalonia to compete internationally.
Another relevant data from the Report is that industry is the sector that grew most in 2023 (3.5%), even above services. This increase is almost double the Spanish figure (1.8%) and contrasts with that of the European Union, which fell by 1.3%.