CEMENT sales grew by 11.9 percent in the third quarter as clement weather allowed for increased construction activity, according to the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of the Philippines (Cemap).
Cemap President Ernesto Ordoñez said the outlook for cement sales for the year remains buoyant from the industry’s perspective despite a slow second-quarter growth of only 3.2 percent.
Cement sales for the third quarter alone amounted to 5.374 million metric tons (MMT), an 11.9- percent increase over last year’s sales of 4.805 MMT.
This brought the year-to-date sales volume to 16.093 MMT, a 7.7-percent improvement over last year’s nine-month sales of only 14.941 MMT.
According to Ordoñez, the pickup in cement consumption was due to better weather, a factor that may have affected sales, which were stunted, in the second quarter.
However, an industry source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the more telling factor that hindered more buoyant sales in the second quarter was the political turmoil, and its consequent impact on business, that came in the wake of the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
The DAP was declared unconstitutional in the third quarter but the nature of the contentious program of the Department of Budget and Management have divided government since late 2013.
The DAP was said touted as an economic stimulus program meant to speed up the public disbursement process and help boost economic expansion.
The program diverted savings and approved funds from slow-moving government projects to new activities/projects. Increased spending on infrastructure projects was one of the activities funded by the
DAP mechanism.
An industry source also predicted a more pronounced demand for cement may be realized toward the end of the year as spending for public infrastructures accelerate.
Ordoñez said the acceleration from the second-quarter sales growth of only 3.2 percent to 11.9 percent bodes well for the industry.
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