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.