Displaying items by tag: Production
Pakistani cement producers oppose tax measures
27 July 2015Pakistan: Cement manufacturers have voiced their opposition to the various tax measures announced in the federal budget for 2015 - 2016 that they say will hurt investor sentiments in general and burden cement consumers in particular, according to The Express Tribune.
"Finance minister Ishaq Dar should revisit some fiscal measures that will lead to an increase in the cost of doing business and are against the norms of taxation," said Muhammad Ali Tabba, chairman of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association. In a statement, Tabba pointed out that taxpayers with a taxable income of US$4.91m or more would be liable to pay a 3% super tax, which was discriminatory. The super tax would also be charged on export income, though exports were subject to the final tax regime at the rate of 1%.
Protesting against the increase in import duty from 1% to 5% on coal, Tabba said that while the cement manufacturers were making efforts to reduce the cost of production in order to compete at the global level, the duty hike would increase the business cost. Fuel constitutes more than 50% in the overall production cost and cement manufacturers will have no choice but to pass this additional burden on to consumers, he added.
US cement production down year-on-year in May 2015
16 July 2015US: Preliminary data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that the US produced 7.0Mt of cement in May 2015. The country imported around 0.8Mt of cement during the month, giving an apparent consumption figure of around 7.8Mt. Production and imports in May 2014 were 7.5Mt and 0.6Mt, giving apparent consumption for that month of 8.1Mt. This is 0.3Mt more than in May 2015, a fall of 3.8% year-on-year.
In the year to 30 May 2015 the US consumed a total of 31.9Mt of cement, around 0.7Mt more than in the same period of 2014, when it consumed 31.2Mt.
UAE: A report from Technavio suggests that cement exports from the UAE will decline in the four years to 2019 as a resurgence of building in the country takes hold.
The government will invest US$700bn over the next 15 years towards infrastructure development. As well as the Dubai EXPO 2020 and UAE National Vision 2021, major investments will be directed towards transport and power infrastructure projects, with the cement market forecast to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 7.56% in the period to 2019.
Polish cement production up in June 2015
16 July 2015Poland: Cement production in Poland increased by 4.1% year-on-year to 1.55Mt in June 2015, while sales were up by 7.2% to 1.59Mt, according to the country's Cement Producer Association. Production in the first half of the year was up by 2.1% year-on-year to 7.19Mt and first half sales have risen by 2.5% to 7.33Mt.
Vietnam: According to Vietnam News Agency Bulletin, domestic cement consumption and exports both improved in the first half of 2015 despite increased competitive pressure from neighbouring countries.
Statistics from the construction ministry showed that in the first half of 2015, Vietnam's cement consumption grew by 6% year-on-year to 34.2Mt, meeting 47% of the whole year's target. Of this, domestic consumption was 5% higher than in 2014 at 25.9Mt. Vietnam exported 8.19Mt of cement, representing an 8% year-on-year increase. In June 2015, cement consumption was estimated at 5.68Mt, 12% higher than in 2014, including 4.63Mt in the domestic market and 1.05Mt for exports. The ministry said that cement and clinker exports in the first half of 2015 faced difficult conditions in some markets, especially Bangladesh.
Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of the Vietnam Cement Association, said that there was no concern about the cement consumption in the 2015 - 2016 period thanks to a rising domestic demand. In 2015, domestic cement consumption is estimated to increase by 5Mt. Cung said that cement consumption in the domestic market has risen thanks to improvement in the real estate market, while rural infrastructures have been actively developed. The ministry has calculated that cement consumption in 2015 will grow by 1.5 – 2% to 72 - 74Mt. Of this, local consumption will be 53 – 54Mt, while 19 – 20Mt will be exported.
In 2015 Vietnam will have two new projects, including the 600,000t/yr capacity Song Lam 2 cement plant and the 3.6Mt/yr capacity Cong Thanh Cement plant. This will bring the country's total cement production lines to 76, with 81.6Mt/yr of designed capacity.
Cement production in 2016 is expected to meet domestic consumption demands plus 15 – 16Mt of exports, in addition to a reserve of 10 – 15% to stabilise the market, especially in the southern region. Cung said that there will not be any new cement projects in 2016, although a number of major projects would be carried out during the 2017 - 2018 period.
Cement production in Iran exceeds 15.8Mt
13 July 2015Iran: The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade has announced that in the first three months of 2015, cement production reached 15.8Mt and clinker output was 19.3Mt. In the same period, more than 12.7Mt of cement was distributed inside the country and 4.34Mt of cement was exported.
The Employers Guild Association for the cement industry said that, in the Iranian year 1393 (to 21 March 2015), cement and clinker exports exceeded 18.9Mt, up from 18.8Mt in 1392. Iran produced 66.4Mt of cement in the year and 70Mt of clinker.
India: Accord Fintech has said that Sagar Cements' cement production for June 2015 rose by 0.82% to 1.31Mt compared to 1.29Mt in June 2014. Its cement dispatch for June 2015 rose by 0.66% to 1.31Mt compared to 1.30Mt in June 2014.
Brazil: According to Valor Economico, estimates from the cement industry association Sindicato Nacional da Indústria do Cimento (SNIC) point to a retraction in domestic cement demand in 2015, the first market dip in the last 10 years.
Some estimates point to a 10 - 12% decrease, eventually 15% if there is no pick up in demand. There was a 1% increase in cement demand in 2014, as the sector was pushed by construction activities and abundant credit offers at favourable rates. Cement sales in 2014 grew by 1.4% to 70.9Mt and imports fell by 20.4% to 817,000t. Apparent cement consumption in 2014 grew by 1% to 71.7Mt.
The SNIC has said that consumption could fall to around 60Mt in 2016. Installed capacity is 90Mt/yr and 10Mt/yr of extra cement production capacity is expected in 2015.
Armenia: As reported by ARMINFO News (Armenia), Armenia cut its cement exports 2.5-fold to 73,000t in 2014, down from 185,200t in 2013. It also increased its imports 2.2-fold, according to the Customs Service of Armenia.
The customs cost of the exported cement fell from US$11.8m in 2013 to US$4.6m in 2014, a factor of 2.6. In 2013, cement exports grew by 36% year-on-year and imports doubled. The Ministry of Economy said that cement exports fell dramatically in 2014 as a new cement plant started up in Rustavi, Georgia. There are now three HeidelbergCement cement plants in Georgia. The country was the key consumer of Armenian cement exports.
In 2014, Armenia imported 7500t of cement for US$1.2m compared to 3400t for US$615,200 in 2013. Some 98% of the country's cement imports come from Iran.
According to the Statistical Service of Armenia, cement production fell by 0.9% in 2014 and by 1.5% in 2013, compared to 3.6% growth in 2012. In 2014, the construction sector shrank by 4.3% to US$913m. In the first quarter of 2015, the construction sector grew by a marginal 0.4%.
UAE: According to a Companies and Markets report, after the economic downturn of 2008 - 2009, the cement market in the UAE is showing a positive rebound and is expected to grow by 7.56%/yr in 2014 - 2019.
The UAE is currently producing double its cement demand. Over 50% of the cement produced in the UAE is exported to Oman, Egypt and other African countries. However, analysts believe that in the coming years the cement export share will decline to meet the growing domestic demand.
The growth of the cement market in the UAE is being primarily led by a surge in construction investment because of the revival of economy. The government will invest US$700bn in the next 15 years towards the infrastructure development in the country. Ahead of Dubai EXPO 2020 and UAE National Vision 2021, major investment will be directed toward transport and power infrastructure.