Displaying items by tag: Afghanistan
Tajikistan: Tajikistan’s cement production rose by 39% year-on-year to 1.8Mt in the first half of 2018 from 1.3Mt in the same period in 2017. Of this total 0.7Mt was exported to neighbouring countries, principally Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, according to the Avesta news agency. The local cement industry is benefiting from government-backed infrastructure projects, a rise in domestic house building and a buoyant export market.
The country produced 3.1Mt of cement in 2017 and over 1Mt of this was exported. It has 13 cement producers with an estimated production capacity of 4Mt/yr. Local demand for cement is estimated to be 3 – 3.5Mt/yr.
Afghan government cancels contract for Ghori Cement
06 June 2018Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has cancelled the Afghan Investment Company’s (AIC) contract to operate Ghori cement factory in Baghlan province. The AIC has been accused of not meeting a contractual obligation to upgrade the plant, according to Salam Watandar radio. Minister Nargis Nehan said that the company has due to invest US$152m in the unit but that it had only spent US$51m on the project. In addition it had acquired an outstanding loan of US$13m from the ministry. Mehmood Karzai, brother of the former president Hamid Karzai, is a shareholder in AIC.
Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines & Petroleum plans to re-issue a tender for the Jabal Saraj cement plant. The winning company will have to invest US$170m into the project to build 1Mt/yr plant, according to Tolo News. Previously, a local company won the tendering process to renovate the unit but the High Economic Council has decided to find a company with more industry experience.
Iranian cement production remains stagnant
19 April 2018Iran: Cement production remained stagnant at 54.5Mt during the Iranian financial year that ended on 20 March 2018. Clinker production was reported as 57.9Mt, according to ISNA. The country produced 54.1Mt of cement in the preceding financial year. The lack of growth has been blamed on a recession in the construction sector, poor supply of gas to industrial users and declines in the export market.
Exports fell by 9% year-on-year to 5.8Mt in the 2018 period, according to Abdolreza Sheikhan, the secretary of Iran's Cement Industry Employers Association, with particular declines noted in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraq temporarily banned imports from Iran in 2015 due to low quality but volumes fell following the resumption of trade. Cement shipments to Russia have also reportedly been returned due to quality issues. An arrangement with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines to implement a 30% discount for cement cargos to Persian Gulf states has been agreed but it is yet to be implemented.
Tajikistan: Cement production has more than doubled to 0.78Mt in the first quarter of 2018 from 0.36Mt in the same period in 2016. The rise has been attributed to new infrastructure projects, increased residential construction and higher exports, according to the Azer News newspaper. 172,000t of cement was exported to Uzbekistan, 131,000t to Afghanistan and 19,000t to Kyrgyzstan. 3.1Mt of cement was produced in the country in 2017 and over 1Mt of this was exported to the three countries led by Afghanistan.
The country has 13 cement producers with a total production capacity of over 4Mt/yr. However, the country is estimated to only need up to 3.5Mt/yr.
Pakistan cement producers ask government to raise import tariffs
02 February 2018Pakistan: The local cement industry has asked the government to increase the custom duty on imported clinker to support local production as export rates continue to decline. The industry has also recommended that cement importers should be registered with the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and country of origin bodies, according to the Nation newspaper. Falling exports in Afghanistan have been blamed on Iranian competition and high local energy costs.
Record July for Pakistan
07 August 2017Pakistan: The cement sector in Pakistan recorded an all-time high single month sales in July 2017 as the commodity's sales and exports grew by 44% year-on-year to 3.38Mt. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said that sales and exports were 2.33Mt in July 2016. Domestic sales rose by 55% to 2.91Mt, while exports remained flat at 0.48Mt.
“The dispatch figures for July 2017 are most encouraging,” said an APCMA spokesman. “The industry has established a record for this month. Never before has the sector crossed the dispatch limit of 3Mt in July.” The spokesman added that the turnaround after a dismal performance in June 2017 had taken the industry by surprise and that the sharp increase in dispatches in July rekindled hopes for growth. “The dispatches were achieved despite political turmoil in the country and unprecedented rains throughout the country. This depicts the maturity of the construction sector in the country,” he said.
Exports to Afghanistan during the month increased by 40.3% year-on-year to 210,000t but this was off-set by a large fall in exports to India and elsewhere. Sales to India fell by 11.6% to 122,000t and to other countries sales fell by 19.0% to 144,000t.
Tajikistan: Cement producers exported around one third of the country’s cement production in the first quarter of 2017. Cement production in January to March 2017 rose by 12% year-on-year to 426,000t of cement, according to the Asia Plus news agency. The country exported 120,400t of cement to Afghanistan, 10,000t to Uzbekistan and 2700t to Kyrgyzstan in the period.
The country has 13 cement plants with a total production capacity of 4.7Mt/yr. Tajik-Chinese joint ventures Huaxin Gayur Cement, Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement accounted for 38%, 28% and 16.6% of the local production in the first quarter of the year.
Afghanistan: A Czech company plans to invest US$70m towards building a cement plant in Zenda Jan district of Herat province. A deal is expected to be signed in early April 2017, according to a Sirus Alaf, an Afghan presidential adviser on the economy, quoted by the 1TV Afghanistan television channel. Local companies are also expected to match the foreign investment. The planned plant will have a cement production capacity of 1600t/day.
Maple Leaf Cement sales grow by 11% to US$114m in first half
20 February 2017Pakistan: Maple Leaf Cement’s sales revenue increased by 11% year-on-year to US$114m in the first half of its financial year to 31 December 2016. Its profit rose by 12% to US$25m, according to the Dawn newspaper. Growth was attributed to cement sales in the local market despite a significant drop in exports to Afghanistan and an increase in the price of coal.