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Venezuela: In the wake of the earthquakes that hit Venezuela on 24 June 2026, the cement industry has warned that the cement produced in the country is not suitable for rebuilding homes, according to El Nacional newspaper. Faced with a proposed reconstruction plan designed by the government, citizens of La Guaira are urging the authorities to use ‘high-quality materials’ to ensure safe structures and prevent another disaster. Orlando Chirinos, president of the United Federation of Cement Workers of Venezuela, explained that warnings were issued eight years ago about the risks of building with CPCA 1 blended cement, saying that it’s a cement for ‘refractory work, plastering, and flooring,’ and is not suitable for large-scale construction.

“A reconstruction phase is coming, and we Venezuelans must build with quality materials, with quality cement; the necessary corrective measures must be taken to resume production of Type 1 cement,” he said.

Only 1Mt/yr of cement is produced from a production capacity of 9Mt/yr. Data provided by Chirinos reveals that the country’s cement processing plants operate intermittently. The Lara plant in Barquisimeto is only operating with one of its three installed kilns, for example. Chirinos said that this situation is replicated at all cement plants across the country, leading to a drop in production and a final product that does not meet quality standards. Many of the hundreds of buildings that collapsed in regions such as La Guaira were built by the government through the Great Venezuela Housing Mission.

Philippines: Republic Cement entered into a partnership on 3 July 2026 with PETValue Philippines for a zero waste to landfill initiative. PETValue is a joint venture between Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines and Indorama Ventures. It is a food-grade PET recycling facility, which turns post-consumer PET bottles into recycled PET resin used to manufacture new bottles. Under the partnership, plastic components separated during the recycling process are recovered by ecoloop, Republic Cement’s resource recovery arm, and co-processed as alternative fuel in the cement kiln. Republic Cement has reportedly diverted more than 1.5Mt of residual plastic waste from landfills through such initiatives.

Burkina Faso: The government has signed four financing agreements totalling US$148m for industrial and mining projects deemed ‘strategic.’ The investments are funded through the Diaspora Bond and are expected to stimulate domestic production and support local businesses. An initial agreement worth US$26m was signed with Cim-Sahel to strengthen national cement production capacity and reduce dependence on imports. On 2 July 2026, the government established Cim-Sahel, a 60% state-owned public-private partnership to guarantee the availability of cement throughout the country.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement increased its revenue by 43% year-on-year to US$63m after selling 978,950t of cement in the first half of 2026, up by 15% from 850,424t a year earlier. It said that higher average selling prices, supported by increased sales volumes and positive currency exchange movement, helped bring about the result. The company increased its market share to 15%. It expects full-year sales of around 1.95Mt, below 2025 levels, reflecting reduced clinker inventories. The company said that exports and imports ‘held steady’ at 2025 levels. Its project to expand production capacity to 2.5Mt is apparently progressing according to schedule, with final commissioning expected in mid-2027.