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".
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 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.
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."
During the first quarter of 2019, Central American companies imported hydraulic cement for $47 million, and purchases from companies in Vietnam increased 155% over the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAPHIC caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In April, Ultracem Guatemala, a Colombian company dedicated to the import and distribution of finished cement packed in sacks, began operating.
Executives of the company explained that for the start-up of the company in the country have invested about $1.2 million, and that the warehouses for storage and packaging are located in Puerto Barrios, Izabal.
With the entry into force of 122-2019 Agreement, the application of the specific tax, the customs information corresponding to cement or clinker imports and the appointment of personnel to supervise storage places is regulated.
Since the 122-2019 Governmental Agreement was published in the Diario de Centro América on July 25, 2019, the regulations have become effective in the country.
During the first nine months of 2018, Central American companies imported hydraulic cement for $110 million, and purchases from Mexico doubled compared to the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
The new Cementos Progreso plant, in San Juan Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, will be in a test phase throughout 2019 and is expected to begin operations in 2020.
Representatives of the company reported that the installed capacity will be 4,500 tons of clinker per day, equivalent to 320 tons of cement per hour, about 400 trucks per day.
During the first six months of 2018, Central American companies imported hydraulic cement for $77 million, and purchases from China increased 42% over the same period in 2017.
Figures from the information system on the the Hydraulic Cement Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In the first three months of 2018, countries in Central America imported $36 million worth of hydraulic cement, 9% more than was purchased in the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Information System on the Hydraulic Cement Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]