Trade with Greece
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diate concern for S&B, Delfi-Distomon SA, and
ELMIN SA, all companies engaged in bauxite
mining and trading.
In the nickel sector, LARCO is gradually bringing
back on-stream certain production lines, which
remained idle since 2009. It has to be noted that,
owing to low prices, as well as accidents, the
company’s output closed at approximately 8.269
thousand tons in 2009, against a capacity of 18
thousand tons. Nonetheless, the emergence of a
highly favourable environment and the implemen-
tation of a new production plan seem to lead to
positive results, as output reached almost 15
thousand tons, a trend that is expected to persist
if global prices continue to rise.
Increased cash
flow
replenishes the historic nickel-producer’s liq-
uidity, also reducing some of its deficits,
albeit
without solving its structural problems
. The
company is still seeking the investments required
for improving the input mix either by switching to
new ore deposits or through imports. ELVAL SA
(aluminium rolling) has also reached full capacity
thanks to increased demand from Europe, since
the company does not rely on the domestic market.
Construction — Cement —
Construction materials
In contrast, the cement industry continues to
decline, since it has few options of reacting to the
domestic drop in demand. This trend is not
expected to change in the short run, as private
construction activity is expected to keep on
shrinking. Moreover, the repeated cuts in public
investment lead to a further drop in demand for
construction materials.
The producers of industrial minerals that are used
in construction (S&B), cement production
(Heracles, Titan, Halyps) and marble production
(Dionysos Marbles, Iktinos Marbles) continued
their freefall for a second year in a row.
Output
cuts exceed 20%, while in certain sectors the
aggregate drop from 2008 till this date
exceeds 35%.
Uncertainty remains the dominant
feature in regard to exports, despite the obvious
improvement of conditions as compared to 2009.
Market sources do not only consider the
situa-
tion
to be
rather adverse
but, above all, believe
that
there are no positive prospects
in the
immediate future.
A case in point is that even marble exports are in
a bad state, while primary marble production is in
perpetual decline, exacerbated by licensing prob-
lems (there are less than 180 functioning quar-
ries, as compared to 261 in 2001). In 2009, the
production of marble products decreased by 30%
to 950 thousand tons, with exports remaining
unchanged at 300 thousand tons.
As shown by the data
for 2010, high voltage
consumption increased
by 5.86% year-on-year.
In practice, this means
that Greece’s large alu-
minium, nickel and steel
industries increased
their output and
required more power.
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