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"]
In the first nine months of 2017, countries in the region imported $110 million worth of hydraulic cement, 38% more than was purchased in the same period in 2016.
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 the graph"]
A bill that is being discussed in the Legislative Assembly proposes establishing a tax of 5% on the net sale price of imported or locally produced cement.
The bill establishes that "...the tax on cement produced within the national territory or imported, will be of five percent (5%) on the net sale price, both in the case of the national producer at the level of the production plantand for the importer at the level of the dispatch or storage site, excluding the corresponding sales or value-added tax, as well as any other tax".
The cement production plant that Plycem is to build on a 50,000 square meter site in Esparza, Puntarenas, will start operations in the first quarter of 2018.
The cement that will be manufactured at the plant will be of the Cementos Fortaleza brand, and part of its production will be sold locally.
In the last year, 56 environmental impact studies were presented for the construction of industrial plants in Central American countries.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private constructionprojects for which environmental impact studies (EIA) were submitted to the respective institutions in each country.
In the coming weeks, a new cement production plant owned by the Mexican company Cementos Fortaleza will start operating in Costa Rica.
The arrival of Cementos Fortaleza into the Costa Rican market will be managed by the company Plycem, which, like Cementos Fortaleza, is part of the Elementia group owned by businessman Carlos Slim.The cement-producing plant will be located in Barranca de Puntarenas, according to confirmation given to Nacion.com by Olman Vargas, executive director of the Federated College of Engineers and Architects (CFIA).
In 2016 intraregional trade in hydraulic cement totaled $59 million, 18% less than in 2015, and the main exporter is still Costa Rica.
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 the graph"]
Between January and September 2016, the value of trade in hydraulic cement between countries of the region amounted to $48 million, 14% less than the same period in 2015.
Figures from the information system on the the Hydraulic Cement Market in Central America , compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Clic para interactuar con la gráfica"]
Developers are the main sources of demand for prefabricated construction systems, with prices hovering around $24.000 for a 50 sqm prefabricated house with flat walls.
Traditionally demand for this type of building systems came from families who acquired the prefabricated systems to build their own homes, but now there is greater demand from developers who are choosing this option because of its lower cost and for the standardization that it allows them to achieve in the construction processes.
The lower speed at which cement prices are growing is due to a dip in production costs and the market opening up to imports of the product from China.
The completion of large-scale construction projects, such as the Reventazon hydroelectric station, also explains the change in the price of cement which has gone from 7.8% in the first quarter of 2015 to 1.5% in the same period this year.
The Constitutional Court has rejected the appeal made by Holcim which protested against the 5% tax on the sale of cement produced in some provinces.
The Swiss company Holcim Capital won an appeal against the Law on 5% Tax on the sale of the cement produced in three provinces: Cartago, Guanacaste and San Jose, considering it "discriminatory" and harmful to their competitiveness. The company argued that the measure favored cement importers or producers in other regions of the country. However, Crhoy.com reports that through judgment 003897-16, the Constitutional Court rejected the appeal.
The International Conference on Sustainability of Concrete Latin America will be held from 17 to 19 February 2016 in San Jose, Costa Rica.
From a statement issued by the Association of Cement Producers in Peru:
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) and the Iberoamerican Federation of Ready Mixed Concrete (FIHP) in accordance with other sponsors will be holding the International Conference on Sustainability of Concrete, Latin America, from 17 to 19 February 2016 in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The new standard establishes quality requirements for six different types of hydraulic cement and recommends that the maximum use by date of the product be set by the manufacturer.
From a statement issued by INTECO:
November 2015. In order to establish the parameters and specifications to be complied with by different types of cement products used in the country, the Institute of Technical Standards of Costa Rica (INTECO) approved the norm INTE 11/15/06: 2015 "Hydraulic Cement - Requirements and Specifications ", which aims to guarantee the quality of this product and also serves as a reference for the technical regulations for the marketing of cement in the country.
The company Sinocem has announced it will once again import cement from China to supply the local market at a lower cost than is offered by traditional suppliers.
Amid the controversy generated by changes in the rules for marketing cement, the company Sinocem has announced that the first Chinese import and sale of cement in the country generated good results, and that it will be importing more. The company says that the first batch was sold in December 2014 at a price 20% lower than the competition.
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