Displaying items by tag: Import

Zimbabwe: Livetouch Investments plans to build a new 200,000t/yr cement plant in Zvishavane, Midlands Province. The first phase of construction will reach completion in mid-2024 and cost US$20m. When subsequently commissioned, the plant will create 300 new jobs. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that the upcoming plant is situated close to Livetouch Investments' existing limestone resources.

Livetouch Investments' mananging director Kyle Wang said that the company is building the plant in order to reduce Zimbabwe's reliance on imports of cement, notably via Zambia. Zimbabwe already has a cement capacity of 2.6Mt/yr, but a cement demand of just 1.6Mt/yr.

Senegal: Germany-based Gebr. Pfeiffer has received an order for an MVR 5000 R-4 vertical roller mill from Morocco-based Ciments de l'Afrique (CIMAF). CIMAF plans to install the mill at its Keur Moussa cement plant in Senegal. The mill has a capacity of 470t/hr, and will be equipped with an SLS 4000 VR classifier.

CIMAF hopes to reduce Senegal's reliance on imported cement from the time of the mill's commissioning, scheduled for early 2024.

Australia: The government plans to reform its CO₂ emissions Safeguard Mechanism in line with its stated goal of net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. Under the latest proposals, 215 industrial plants, including Australia's cement plants, will have to reduce their CO₂ emissions by 4.9% year-on-year every year until 2030. The Australian newspaper has reported that the government is currently receiving submissions on the proposed reform as part of its consultation process, which will end on 24 February 2023.

The Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group have encouraged the government to introduce an adjustment mechanism for imports, based on the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), in conjunction with any tightening of the Safeguard Mechanism.

Pakistan: DG Khan Cement despatched its second cement shipment to the US on 18 January 2023. The shipment consisted of 37,500t of low-alkali cement, and is part of an order for 600,000t. The Business Recorder newspaper has reported that DG Khan Cement previously shipped 50,000t to the US in June 2022. The latest delivery is destined for Houston, Texas.

DG Khan Cement's executive director Farid Fazal said that the Pakistan cement industry is position to obtain an over 10% share in the US import market. During 2022, Pakistan and 24 other countries exported cement to the US.

Malaysia: The Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) are planning to set up a joint-venture tasked with imported cement into Sarawak due to shortages and high prices. The company intends to import 0.5 – 1Mt/yr of cement from Siam Cement Group (SCG) in Thailand, according to the Star newspaper. Representatives of the SEDC and BDA recently visited SCG in Bangkok.

Cement prices in Sarawk are reportedly 15% higher than in mainland Malaysia and 4% higher than neighbouring Sabah. Supply and pricing issues have adversely affected infrastructure projects in the state. Maintenance at CMS Cement’s integrated Mambong plant south of Kuching and delays in delivering raw materials to its grinding plant at Kuching grinding plant caused further disruptions to cement supplies in late 2022.

Vietnam: Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) has forecast 6.1% three-year growth in national coal demand to 115Mt in 2025 from 108Mt in 2022. Four main industries – cement, fertilisers, metal and power generation – are expected to retain over 90% of the combined share of domestic consumption. Vinacomin expects national coal production to increase by 1.3Mt/yr over the period, retaining a 40 – 45% stake in the domestic market. Five-year consumption of imported lignite is forecast to rise to 70 – 75Mt throughout the period up to 2026.

Chile: A fire at Sites 1, 2, 3 and 5 of Puerto Ventanas port in Valparaíso Region has disrupted clinker transportation to Melón’s Puerto Ventanas cement plant. The La Tercera newspaper has reported that the fire destroyed a clinker conveying system connecting the port to the cement plant. The producer expects the damage to ‘significantly impact’ its cement production capacity for a period which it is ‘not yet possible to specify.’

Melón said, “We have deployed contingency and operational continuity plans in order to ensure our supply to our customers." It added that it could not yet quantify the ultimate impacts on its assets, liabilities or results.

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has decided to impose anti-dumping duties on cement imported from Vietnam. Trade Secretary Alfredo E Pascual said that the dumping of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Blended Cement from Vietnam posed an "imminent threat of material injury to the domestic cement industry," according to the BusinessWorld newspaper. The duties will comprise 4 – 28% of the export price of OPC and 3 – 55% of the price of Blended Cement. The DTI has identified 11 cement companies from Vietnam that will be targeted with the anti-dumping tariffs.

A report by the Tariff Commission found that 53% of the total cement imported from July 2019 to December 2020 comprised product originating from Vietnam at dumped prices. Overall the country’s OPC and Blended Cement imports rose by 11% year-on-year to 5.90Mt in 2020 and by 16.2% to 6.85Mt in 2021. Imports rose by a further 7% year-on-year to 3.50Mt in the first half of 2022 compared to an average of 3.27Mt for the same half-year periods in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The TC said, "The existence of threat of material injury to the domestic industry is imminent in the near future, as indicated by the significant rate of increase of dumped imports into the Philippines capturing substantial market share, presence of price undercutting, price depression and price suppression.”

Europe: Cembureau has welcomed a satisfactory conclusion to talks over the new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) under the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Negotiators from different EU institutions agreed to a gradual CBAM implementation, which will officially commence in October 2023. Free allocations of ETS credits to the EU cement sector and other industries will phase out between 2026 and 2034. During this transition period, CBAM duties will apply to imported products in proportion to EU production not covered by free allocation.

Cembureau's chief executive Koen Coppenholle said “The agreements on CBAM and ETS are essential to create a global level playing field on CO₂ and support our sector in its transition to carbon neutrality. It is positive that the EU institutions strengthened some key aspects of CBAM. We however regret that the adopted texts do not provide a structural solution for exports. Some EU countries export up to 50% of their domestic cement production and these will be at risk should no concrete export solution be found before 2026.”

Coppenholle added “Looking ahead, we need to focus on CBAM implementation and its water-tightness, to ensure the mechanism fully equalises CO₂ costs between EU and non-EU suppliers. It is also essential that policymakers support EU industries like cement, which are confronted with unsustainably high energy costs at a time some of our trading partners are launching massive subsidy programmes. CBAM, ETS and a strong innovation fund are essential parts of the puzzle, but we look forward to European Commission proposals for a truly ambitious industrial policy, as requested by the European Council in its meeting of 15 December 2022.”

Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cement Manufactures Association (BCMA) has demanded that an additional 30% increase to import duties on limestone be removed. A supplementary duty was introduced in November 2022 when the National Board of Revenue (NBR) changed the way limestone was coded in response to a significant increase in imports since 2020, according to the New Nation newspaper. Previously limestone importers were paying a duty US$7.80/t. Now they are reportedly paying US$14.60/t.

The BCM wrote to the NBR about the issue in mid-November 2022. BCMA president Alamgir Kabir renewed his association’s lobbying to remove the additional duty at a press conference held in mid-December 2022.