Cement market below expectations

The Romanian cement market will grow 3% this year, according to Mihai Rohan, general manager of Carpatcement (the local branch of German construction materials group HeidelbergCement) and chairman of the CIROM cement patronage. Early year estimates had pointed to a 5-8% growth. Under the circumstances, the cement market will exceed 4.7m tonnes this year, which accounts for more than 237m euros at an average price of 50 euros per tonne. The poor results were mainly grounded on the 30-40% drop in cement sales in Q1, 2003, given the unusually long cold season. ZF