16 September 2020 09:17 am
Sri Lanka’s cement production and imports bounced back strongly in June by 42.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) indicating a considerable pick up in construction activities in the month emerging from COVID-19-induced disruptions, according to Central Bank (CB) data.
In June, cement imports grew by a record 58.9 percent YoY to reach 404, 000 MT overtaking domestic cement production, which increased by 28.3 percent YoY to reach 370,000 MT.
In particular, June was the first month of this year to record a positive growth in cement imports.
Sri Lanka’s domestic cement production and imports had been declining by over 40 percent YoY since March this year. In May, the overall cement supply contracted by a record 63.2 percent YoY to 349,000 MT.
However, overall cement supply during the first half of the year (January-June) is still down by 23.8 percent YoY at 3,157, 000 MT compared to the same period last year.
The decline was mainly due to 39.4 percent YoY drop in cement imports during the period while local cement production only recorded a marginal contraction of 0.4 percent YoY producing 1,643,000 MT of cement.
However, the imports of building material—mainly iron, steel, plastic, rubber & glassware, ceramic products and cement—contracted by 36.7 percent YoY in July.