Cement sales set for building-season surge

Cement consumption this month will increase by roughly 10 per cent over October thanks to rising demands during construction season, the Ministry of Finance’s Pricing Management Department predicted.

The department said that cement prices were also expected to surge in the wake of a 25 per cent hike in the cost of coal, a key fuel for the industry. The coal price hike was estimated to lift cement production costs by roughly 4.2-5 per cent.

According to the Viet Nam Cement Association, the country last month consumed 3.3 million tonnes of cement, a 40,000 tonne decrease over the previous month. The country meanwhile produced 3.6 million tonnes of cement, up roughly 72,000 tonnes over the previous month.

Last month’s cement price had remained stable over the previous month, staying at between VND770,000 and VND940,000 per tonne, the association said.

The association was predicting that cement consumption this year would increase by only 4-5 per cent over last year to about 44-45 million tonnes.

Viet Nam Cement Corporation deputy director Tran Viet Thang said that cement supplies were currently about 3 million tonnes in excess of demand, a surplus that could reach 5 million tonnes by the end of the year.

The trend should continue through next year as new cement plants came on line, Thang said, adding that the Viet Nam Cement Association had estimated that the country would consume roughly 48-50 million tonnes of cement next year

Tags: Vietnam business news, Vietnam cement industry