23 March 2022

Oman: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion has held a meeting with cement companies, importers, distributors and related government departments to discuss cement shortages in some regions of the country. One local plant has suspended production due to high input costs, according to the Oman Daily Observer newspaper. However, Oman Cement Company says it is prepared to boost its production by 10% to meet local demand. Following the meeting the ministry has taken several steps to ensure the availability of cement across the country and maintain prices. These include increasing the production output at some cement plants and increasing imports.

US: Argos USA has agreed to sell a total of 23 US ready-mix concrete batching plants to Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete for US$93m. 18of the plants are situated in North Carolina and the remainder in Southwest Florida. The El Colombiano newspaper has reported that the deal includes a five-year cement supply agreement for all 23 plants. Cementos Argos said that the divestment is part of its plan to divest assets in suburban markets or that are not already integrated into its production and logistics chain.