Brazil: Cement sales have fallen by 14.5% year-on-year to 13.9Mt in the first quarter of 2016 from 16.3Mt in the same period in 2015 according to the Sindicato Nacional da Indústria do Cimento (SNIC). Local cement companies estimate that sales and apparent consumption will fall by up to 13% in 2016.
A survey by SNIC shows the sales began falling in mid March 2014 due to problems in the construction industry. However, SNIC president José Otávio de Carvalho said that this is not the worst crisis faced by the cement industry. In 1982 cement consumption fell to 19Mt from 27Mt in 1982.
