2024, Brazilian cement sales declined. After entering April, the country's cement sales have recovered.
According to data from the National Cement Industry Union (SNIC), cement sales in Brazil increased by 0.2% year-on-year in January-April. Among them, Brazilian cement sales in April were 5.148 million tons, an increase of 12.1% compared with the same period last year. As an indicator that best reflects the sales performance of the cement industry, cement sales on working days in January-April this year fell by 1.8% year-on-year, and in April by 0.9% year-on-year.
Despite falling unemployment and rising wages as the main drivers of cement consumption, Brazil is still constrained by high default rates, household debt and high basic interest rates. Against this backdrop, the volume of real estate financing using funds from savings accounts in the Brazilian Savings and Loan System (SBPE) fell by 17.3% in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year. The withdrawal of savings funds has brought liquidity pressure to the real estate market, which can only find new financing channels, which often mean higher financing costs. On the other hand, the gradual launch of the "My Home, My Life" program (a large-scale social housing program launched by the Brazilian government, which aims to improve the living conditions of the people by providing subsidies and financing to help low-income families own their own homes) has brought support to the demand for cement.
Economic instability is reflected in the level of confidence, while the various confidence indices show the opposite trend. Influenced by expectations for the coming months, the consumer confidence index rose in April, basically recovering to the level of December 2023. At the same time, the industrial sector tends to be optimistic about the business environment and recruitment prospects in the coming months, and the confidence index is also more positive. However, given the increasingly conservative interest rate environment and the government's fiscal difficulties, the construction industry confidence index fell in April.
In a year of so much uncertainty and political and economic conflict, Brazil's cement industry is still focused on tax reform, industry decarbonization targets and the introduction of carbon markets. "After two consecutive years of declining sales and 35% of idle capacity, the Brazilian cement industry hopes to reverse this situation with the help of housing and infrastructure projects," said the president of the
National Cement Industry Union. The Brazilian cement industry is betting its growth on roads and urban construction, with municipalities in the States of Santa Catarina, Paraná, Goiás, Maranhão, Ceará, São Paulo and the Federal District taking the lead in promoting the use of cement and concrete materials.
