(Illustrative photo: bizlive.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Despite cement exports forecast to be lower than that of 2014, a supply-and-demand balance would be maintained thanks to increasing domestic demand.
According to the Ministry of Construction’s Department of Building Materials, the volume of cement sold this year was expected to hit 72 million tonnes, including 55.5 million tonnes consumed domestically.
As such, domestic sales would increase some 4 percent compared to the yearly goal and approximately 9 percent from 2014.
In contrast, cement exports were calculated at 16.5 million tonnes for the entire year, down 19 percent year on year. The export prices have been hovered around 37 USD per tonnes, compared to between 40 and 42 USD recorded last year.
The balance between supply and demand is attributable to adjustments to production and development plans made during the sector recession in 2012 and 2013, said Head of the department Le Van Toi.
The changes scaled down the local production capacity to approximately 81.56 million tonnes per year with 76 working assembly lines, which have since utilised 95 percent of their maximum capacity.
In 2016, demand for the commodity was projected to reach between 75 and 77 million tonnes, increasing up to 7 percent from 2015, with domestic consumption expected to hit 60 million tonnes.-VNA
