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 importingcement companies to process a certificate of conformity and a civil liability policy for each lot to be marketed.
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%.
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 the municipality of Acajutla, the Monterrey business group began construction of an industrial plant with the capacity to produce 120 thousand tons of cement per year.
Executives of the company of Guatemalan origin, reported that the construction of the industrial plant will be done on a 10-block lot that is on the road connecting Acajutla and Sonsonate.
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.
In Panama, the import of cement and the depressed activity of the construction sector explain the fall in the production of concrete and cement in the first half of the year.
Cemento Argos Panama plans to invest about $168 million in the construction of an industrial complex that will serve for the production of Clinker, which will be located on the property of the company's plant in the province of Colon.
Argos Panamá, S.A. presented to the Ministry of Environment the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) to develop the industrial project called "Balboa Project."
One of the approved technical standards establishes the chemical, physical, and performance requirements of general and specialty cements for both imported and locally produced products.
Ministerial resolutions also include packaging, transportation, storage and use requirements.
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. See full publication.
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"]
For businessmen in the sector in Panama, the rules and regulations that currently apply to the import of cement into the country have lagged behind.
According to the Chamber of Construction (Capac), cement is not the only material that should be regulated, since the rest of the main construction inputs that are marketed and used in industry should also be regulated.
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