Displaying items by tag: Export
Laos: The Lao government has halted coal exports to protect cement and other key national industries, according to the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines. The country has six cement plants, which import a large volume of high-price coal, the ministry reported.
According to local cement producers the price of locally produced cement is currently higher than that in Thailand. This poses a challenge for the industry when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community is established in 2015. Hence they are supporting a legal means to secure an adequate supply of coal mined inside the country.
Iran exports 18.8Mt in 2013 – 2014 calendar year
14 May 2014Iran: Iran exported 18.8Mt of cement clinker in the Iranian calendar year that ended on 20 March 2014 according to the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Trade. The figure was a 38% increase from the 13.7Mt exported in the 2012 – 2013 year. The ministry added that 69.7Mt of cement was produced in the country in the 2013 – 2014 period. Of this total 79% was consumed domestically.
Southern Indian cement producers start exports to Myanmar
05 February 2014India: Producers in the south of India have started exporting cement to Myanmar in response to depressed market conditions locally. Chettinad Cements, the India Cements, Dalmia Cements and Ramco Cements have all started shipping cement to Myanmar in the past few months, according to local media.
"We started shipments in January 2014 to Myanmar of about 10,000 - 12,000t. It is not very remunerative, but when the chips are down, we have do something to stay afloat," said Vipin Agarwal, CEO-south, Dalmia Cements. He added that producers make 'token' profits from this market but hope it will become profitable in the future. Dalmia transports its cement from Dalmiapuram in central Tamil Nadu to Tuticorin port for subsequent export. Ramco Cements also starting trialling cement exports to Myanmar in mid-2013, having shipped around 40,000t so far.
Agarwal said that demand in south India has continued to fall with growth in Karnataka, no change in Kerala and decreases in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Cement producers in the region are operating at 55% of their rated cement production capacities. Myanmar is the second export market that cement producers are testing, after Sri Lanka.
UAE cement producers defend exports to Oman
08 January 2014UAE: Cement producers in United Arab Emirates (UAE) have defended their right to export to Oman amidst calls for curbs on imports. Raysut Cement, Oman's largest cement producer, has asked the Government of Oman to implement a ceiling on UAE imports, according to local media. However, UAE producers deny that they are flooding the Oman market.
"There's a shortage and we are covering that shortage," said Suliman Ali Abdullah Al Shehi, a sales manager at Gulf Cement. Raysut Cement has said that the market only needs 1Mt/yr of cement but that UAE producers are exporting 2.5Mt/yr. However UAE producer Fujairah Cement has estimated demand at nearly 3Mt/yr.
Raysut Cement has requested the government in Oman to cap UAE cement imports and to limit the load on each lorry crossing the border from the UAE. The UAE produces over 24Mt/yr according to the Ministry of Economy. Nearly 60% of the total cement production is exported to neighbouring countries in the region.
Thang Long Cement exports 30,000t of cement to Peru
11 December 2013Vietnam: Thang Long Cement has exported 30,000t of cement cargo in bulk packed with Jumbo bags to Peru. This is the first and largest shipment of cement the Semen Indonesia subsidiary has exported to Peru in 2013. Since May 2013 Thang Long Cement has exported over 750,000t of products.
Pakistan cement exports to Afghanistan threatened
04 December 2013Pakistan: Exports of cement from Pakistan to Afghanistan have fallen year-on-year for the first four months of the Pakistan fiscal year that started on 1 July 2013, according to figures from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturing Association (APCMA).
For the first four months of the 2013 fiscal year Pakistan exported 1.46Mt of cement, less than one third of the 4.4Mt of cement exported in the entire 2012 fiscal year. Exports to India are also down year-on-year, at 0.14Mt for the first four months of the 2013 fiscal year.
Commentators in the Pakistani media attributed the fall in exports to competition from Iranian exports in Afghanistan and falling demand in India. Once NATO troops leave Afghanistan the cement consumption in that country is expected to become volatile depending on whether civil unrest grows or if government development programmes continue. Cement exports to Afghanistan currently comprise 50% of Pakistan's cement exports.
Saudi Arabia cement exports down 55% to 245,000t in nine months
04 November 2013Saudi Arabia: The volume of cement exports fell by 55% to 245,000t in the first nine months of 2013, compared to 547,000t of exports in the same period of 2012. The Saudi cement firms imported around 39,000t of cement and 1,925,000t of clinker in the same period. During the first nine months of 2012, 399,000t of clinker was imported.
In April 2013 King Abdullah ordered 10Mt of cement imported to meet the growing demand due to the expansion of development projects and government-led infrastructure projects. Cement was exclusively exported by Saudi Cement Co. (SCC), the Eastern Province Cement Co. (EPCC) and Riyadh Cement Co. (RCC), whose exports reached 123,000t, 82,000t and 40,000t, respectively.
Cimpor to focus on exports
16 October 2013Portugal: Cimpor wants to focus its Portuguese operations on exports, according to its CEO Ricardo Lima. The cement producer's market in Portugal is shrinking and its cement production capacity is increasingly being used for exports, Lima has told newspaper Diario Economico.
Cimpor has a cement production capacity of around 9Mt/yr in Portugal but its domestic demand is only 1.5Mt/yr. Meanwhile, export volumes have doubled since 2011. Cimpor exports to Algeria, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Gambia, Nigeria, Cameroon and northern Brazil.
Camargo Corrêa became the majority shareholder of Cimpor in 2012. Through subsequent restructuring almost 200 employees, mainly administrative staff, left the company. At present Cimpor has no plans to shut down plants in Portugal.
Armenia: The National Statistical Service of Armenia has reported that cement production dropped by 3.5% year-on-year for the first six months of 2013, from 186,300t to 180,000t. Exports doubled in the same period to 92,000t from 46,000t. A crisis in construction in Armenia has been blamed for the fall in production, whilst growth in neighbouring Georgia has been linked with the growth in exports.
"Domestic demand is also low, so we are working at low capacity. We are going to suspend our work shortly as there is no demand for cement in winter," said Naira Martirosyan, CEO of Mika Cement, one of Armenia's leading producers. She added that Mika Cement has not exported cement since 2010 due to growing energy and transportation costs.
In 2011 Armenia was reported to have exported 98,000t compared to 34,000t in 2010. In 2011 a 13.4% drop in construction to some 422,200t was also noted.
Venezuela considers Jamaican cement payment for oil
16 September 2013Venezuela/Jamaica: Venezuela's Minister of Petroleum and mining Rafael Ramirez is 'listening' to a proposal Jamaica has made to pay for its debts to Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA). Jamaican minister Phillip Paulwell made the offer to tackle debts of US$350m raised under the Petrocaribe agreement between the nations where Venezuela supplies oil. However, Caracas-based newspaper El Nacional has reported doubts that Caribbean Cement Co would be able to meet the level of cement exports to Venezuela required to meet the Gran Mision Vivienda state housing programme.
PDVSA currently ships 26,000 barrels/day of oil to Jamaica's state energy company Petrojam. The Petrocaribe agreement includes Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas, Belice, Cuba, Dominica, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haití, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic Dominicana, San Cristóbal & Nieves, San Vicente & Granadinas, St Lucia and Suriname.