The consumption of building materials in the first quarter of this year
decreased by 20-30 percent over the same period last year.

Cement consumption during the three-month period was 10.94 million tonnes, only 19.54 percent of the annual plan.

Many
cement producers had adjusted their operations to keep inventory rates
at 5.5 percent in March, lower than the normal rate of 10 percent.

Building
glass also fell 40 percent compared to the same period last year,
according to the vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Building
Materials, Nguyen Quang Cung.

The use of other building materials dropped between 60-75 percent, Cung said.-VNA