In recent days, the government has frankly faced a grim reality: Cuba's cement production has declined sharply in 2024, reaching only 10% of the national installed capacity, which has a direct impact on the implementation of housing projects and investment in the construction industry.
According to Reynolds Ramirez Vigard, president of OSDE, a commercial group for construction materials, Cuba produced only 258,000 tons of cement last year, and this figure does not include new plants currently under construction. Cuban leaders Miguel Diaz-Canel and Manuel Marrero Cruz clearly pointed out in the meeting that the shortage of energy supply is the key factor leading to the sharp decline in cement production, which in turn stems from the complexity of the country's financial situation. At the meeting
, Diaz-Canel raised the issue of priorities for energy distribution and stressed the importance of cement for the construction industry. Marrero Cruz stressed the importance of building materials production for national development and foreign exchange earnings, and the need to promote cement exports to meet international demand even if domestic supply is tight.
Cuba's construction industry has long faced structural problems. As early as 2017, the capacity utilization rate of the cement industry has dropped to 58%. Since then, problems such as lack of investment, energy crisis and import restrictions have continued to deteriorate. Despite moves to produce eco-friendly cement and restart plants, the industry has been unable to achieve a sustained recovery, the annual housing plan has not been completed, and cement sales in MCL reflect insufficient production to meet domestic demand.
However, the meeting also revealed positive signals that the Santiago de Cuba and Nuvitas cement plants, which will be under construction this year, will start production, which is expected to help the industry recover. The meeting was also attended by several senior government officials, including Commander Ramiro Valdes Menendez, Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz and Minister of Construction Rene Mesa Villafaña.
At present, the Cuban government is actively responding to the pressure brought by the US policy, striving to overcome difficulties through talents, efforts and work, with a view to reversing the adverse situation of the cement industry and the construction industry, and promoting the stable development of the national economy.
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