Spanish cement show a significant differentiation trend. In April this year, the domestic consumption of Spanish cement increased by 13.2% year-on-year to 1.45 million tons, and the strong local demand effectively offset the sharp decline in the export side, while the export weakness was mainly due to the continued erosion of the traditional export competitiveness of Spanish cement by high energy costs.
From the cumulative data of the whole year, the growth momentum of the domestic market is clearer. Cumulative cement consumption in Spain reached 5.32 million tons in the first four months of 2026, up 9.3% from the same period last year. If we observe the rolling 12-month data up to the end of April, the cumulative consumption during the period was 17.1 million tons, an increase of 13.1% over the same period last year, an increase of nearly 2 million tons over the previous 12-month cycle, which shows the stability and sustainability of the recovery of domestic demand. In sharp contrast
to domestic demand, the export side continued to weaken. The monthly export volume in April was about 355000 tons, down 18.3% from the same period last year, and nearly 80000 tons less than that in April 2025. The cumulative export decline in the first four months further expanded by 1.6 percentage points compared with March, reaching 16.4%. Rolling 12-month exports fell by 14.1% to 4.25 million tons. Elena Guede, Director-General of the Spanish Cement Manufacturers Association, pointed out that the evolution of exports was not a short-term one-time adjustment, but a momentum slowdown that intensified month by month, with the cumulative annual decline expanding from 14.8% in March to 16.4% in April, reflecting deep structural pressures.
Energy costs are a central variable in the current predicament. Guede made it clear that the additional electricity costs borne by Spain's cement industry were the fundamental reason for the country's loss of its traditional leading position in European cement exports. Spain has now been overtaken in export competitiveness by Germany, which has benefited from significantly lower energy costs. The Spanish cement industry is facing high electricity prices, which put its products at a disadvantage in the export market, especially in the competition with German producers. The continued double-digit export declines in monthly, cumulative and rolling annual indicators indicate that this is not a temporary market fluctuation, but a structural challenge that needs to be faced squarely.
Looking back on March's performance, Spanish cement shipments rose 27.7% to 1.542 million tons, the best March record in the past 15 years, after heavy rainfall and stagnation in the construction market at the beginning of the year. However, exports also fell 18.3% to 357 thousand tons in the same month. In the first quarter of 2026, Spanish cement demand increased by 8.5% year-on-year to 3.896 million tons, but exports fell by 14.8% to 887000 tons. The recovery of domestic demand is not enough to compensate for the continuing drag on exports caused by the disadvantage of energy costs, and the traditional position of the Spanish cement industry in the European trade pattern is facing a profound adjustment.
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