Cement demand has declined sharply in Jordan over the past weeks because of lower project activity and higher prices due to global inflation, the country’s top industry executive was quoted on Friday as saying.

From an average 5,000-6,000 tonnes per day, domestic cement consumption dipped to nearly 4,000 tonnes per day currently, said Mansour Al-Banna, Chairman of Jordan’s Cement Traders’ Association. 

“There has been a large decline in cement demand and this caused a sharp rise in stockpiles in the country…the decline was because of lower project activity , mainly in the housing sector, due to the cold weather and also because of higher cement prices as part of the global inflation,” Banna told Jordan’s Arabic language daily Addustour.

Banna said demand would only pick up after winter, when the housing sector recovers and the government issues more tenders.

Jordan has five cement plants, including three  owned by Saudi firms, with a combined production capacity of nearly 7.5 million tonnes per year.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)