South Africa: South African cement sales rose for the first time in four years in 2011.
Sales climbed by 3.2% to 11.2Mt/yr in 2011 compared with 2010, when they fell by 7.8%, according to newly released figures from the Johannesburg-based Cement and Concrete Institute. Sales dipped by 1.8% to 730,000t in December 2011 from a year earlier.
"A long-term recovery in South African cement demand is long overdue and latest industry trends indicate that further decline is unlikely," said Pretoria Portland Cement Co, South Africa's largest cement producer.
