In recent years, cement from Vietnam has gained importance in terms of the amount purchased, as from January to September 2018 they represented 10% of total regional imports and for the same period in 2020 the proportion rose to 30%.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
In Guatemala, Cemex S.A. plans to invest close to $16 million in the expansion of its production plant located in the municipality of Puerto de San José, department of Escuintla.
According to the interactive platform "Construction in Central America" of CentralAmericaData's Business Intelligence Unit, Cemex Guatemala S.A., submitted to the Ministry of Environment the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) to develop the project called "Arizona Plant Capacity Expansion".
In order to increase its production capacity in El Salvador by 58%, Holcim will invest $20 million in the reactivation of the Maya Plant and in improvements to the El Ronco Plant.
The company currently has a production capacity of 1.2 million tons of cement per year, but with the reactivation of the plant located in Metapan and the improvements of the other industrial complex, they intend to increase its capacity to 1.9 million tons.
El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua were the Central American markets that increased their hydraulic cement imports in the first half of 2020 in year-on-year terms.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
During the first quarter of 2020, Central American companies imported hydraulic cement for $48 million, and purchases from Turkey increased 154% compared to the same period in 2019.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graph"]
The restriction to the construction activity due to the sanitary emergency and culmination of the third set of locks of the Canal, forces the cement producing companies in Panama to enter in "hibernation" mode.
Due to the health emergency, the Ministry of Health of Panama decided to extend the temporary suspension of the construction activity for a 30-day period, under the same terms expressed in Decree 506 of March 24.
The Legislative Assembly approved in second debate a bill that aims to tax in the country the sale and self-consumption of imported or locally produced cement.
The initiative, which was approved in the first debate in the Assembly in mid-February and is still pending approval by the Executive Branch, establishes that the tax will be on imported cement produced nationally, in bags or in bulk, for sale or self-consumption, of any kind, whose destination is the consumption and marketing of the product nationally.
During 2020, Holcim announced that it will invest $7.5 million in the construction of six concrete production plants and the purchase of machinery.
The new concrete plants that the company is already building will be in Santa Ana, Acajutla, Apopa, Ilopango, La Paz and La Unión. These will be in addition to the 12 that Holcim already operates in the country.
The Assembly approved in first debate a bill that seeks to tax the sale and self-consumption of cement that is imported or locally produced.
The initiative establishes that the tax will be on cement imported and produced nationally, in bags or in bulk, for sale or self-consumption, of any kind, whose destination is the consumption and marketing of the product at the national level, reported the Legislative Assembly.
After Monterrey business group completed the construction of its new industrial plant with capacity to produce 120 thousand tons of cement per year, the company is preparing to start selling in the local market.
The new technical regulation for cement in Panama, which was scheduled to come into force on December 3, will be applicable as of March next year.
One of the new aspects of the regulation is that it requires national and importing cement companies to process a certificate of conformity and a civil liability policy for each lot to be marketed.
From the Ministry of Trade and Industry's statement:
Cemento Interoceanico de Panama announced that the Progreso group acquired 100% of its shares and that they have begun a transition process.
Panamaamerica.com.pa reports that the business conglomerate Progreso, owner of Cementos Progreso, decided to invest in Panama because of "... high demand for cement in the country and the increase in the prices of the largest input of the construction industry, which is part of the many reasons why it bets on the market to provide a high quality product at a competitive price, complying with established standards and controls."
Argos announced the closure of its processing plant located in San Lorenzo, department of Valle, arguing that the current conditions of the cement market in the country are not the best.
One of the factors taken into account by the company for this decision was that between 2018 and 2019, activity in the construction sector decreased by 10%.