[Original] Oficemen: Spanish Cement Demand Expected to Fall 3% Year-on-Year in 2014

   Oficemen, the Spanish cement manufacturers' association, expects Spanish cement demand to fall 3% year-on-year to 10.4 million tonnes in 2014.

   Isidoro Miranda, chairman of Oficemen, said that although some analysts expect Spain's economy to recover slightly in 2014, local cement manufacturers are still struggling. In addition, Isidoro added that Spanish cement demand is expected to begin to rise in 2015 if the Spanish development sector decides to increase investment in public works.

   It is reported that in the first half of 2014, Spain's cement demand fell by 3% to 5.2 million tons. Among them, in June 2014, Spain's domestic demand for cement reached about 967,790 tons, down about 20,000 tons from the same period last year.

   Spain's cement industry plans to make up for the lack of domestic demand through exports. In the first half of 2014, Spain's cement exports increased by 35% year-on-year to 4.97 million tons. According to Oficemen, Spain must keep electricity costs stable to keep its cement industry competitive in export markets.