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.
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 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.
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