Polish cement production and sales reportedly fell by 16% and 14.7% respectively in 2012.
There was said to have been 15.626 million tonnes of cement produced in Poland last year, with sales volume for 2012 recorded at 15.825 million tonnes. The country’s cement exports were down by 22.3% to 0.315 million tonnes, while imports fell by 29.1% to 0.393 million tonnes.
Further national cement industry decreases are expected in 2013, with cement sales tipped to drop to levels seen in 2009-10. According to experts, one of the major problems of the Polish cement industry is low prices which do not allow producers to cover production costs. Meanwhile, costs of energy, fuel and labour have significantly grown.
However Andrzej Balcerek, chief executive of Grupa Gorazdzy, said that because of preparations for the EURO 2012 football tournament, the year of 2011 showed stronger Polish cement sales than normal, leaving 2012 figures to be not as disappointing as some claim.
