International Coatings Scene
LATIN AMERICA
BY CHARLES W. THURSTON
LATIN AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT
THURSTONCW@RODPUB.COM
Peruvian economic recovery
lifts construction
continues, Vencedor is also pursuing market
share augmentation through new introductions in packaging—the company recently
launched a 2.5 gallon size plastic pail for
products in its Supermate, Vencelatex, Rocky
and Dar Color lines.
Peru’s paint
and coatings
industry is
growing due
to economic
recovery.
Peru is undergoing strong recovery of close to five percent this year, including the construction sector, which has driven up
the demand for paints and coatings across the
country, which is Latin America’s sixth-largest
economy. Last year Peru’s economy grew by little more than one percent, diving from a level of
nearly ten percent in 2008.
The country’s economic recovery has risen
on strong oil, mineral and fish exports.
According to Comex Peru, the national foreign trade association, exports were up to
$2.2 billion in January, nearly a 38% jump
over January 2009. Revenues from exports
have helped fuel an expansion in the construction sector, which grew by approximately 20% in December, according to the
national statistics agency INEI. Maximixe
Consult, of Lima, predicts that the construction sector in Peru will grow by more than
nine percent this year and continue to
expand thereafter.
Thanks to such growth, Peruvian latex
paint manufacturing in December increased
by 63%, varnishes were up 49% and enamels
were up 16%, according to government statistics. And non-primary manufacturing,
including the paint and coatings industry,
now is poised for particularly strong growth
over the full year, according to analysts at
Scotiabank. “Non-primary manufacturing
may grow 6.2% this year, after the decrease
registered in 2009 led by the industrial
branch linked to the construction sector,
including products, like non-metallic minerals, steel and paint,” bank analyst Pablo
Nano recently said in Lima.
This recovery bodes well for Peruvian paint
manufacturers like Industrias Vencedor,
which reported sales up six percent during
third quarter 2009. While volume recovery
“...Peruvian latex paint manufactur-
ing in December increased by
63%, varnishes were up 49% and
enamels were up 16%, according
to government statistics.”
New low-cost housing construction is one
rapidly growing area of strong demand for
paints and coatings. The government expects to build 250,000 new units by July
2011, helping reduce the estimated national
shortage of 400,000 units. Part of the housing drive has come as disaster response to
heavy rains that destroyed many villages
over the past year.
While the economy is expanding at close to
five percent this year, inflation is expected to
rise to only two percent, according to a consensus forecast reported by LatinFocus, which
draws on projections by some two-dozen financial institutions active in Peru.
Longer term, Peru expects new direct
investments of close to $50 billion in its
mining and energy industries over the rest
of this decade, which will help not only
industrial segment paint and coatings consumption, but also further accelerate architectural segment consumption as domestic
construction rises. CW
