Displaying items by tag: Ban

Kazakhstan: The Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development has lifted a ban on imports of Portland cement, alumina cement, hydraulic cement and clinker into the country. A three-month ban on such imports began in late April 2021, according to the Trend News Agency. Imported cement must conform to new quality standards introduced by the ministry’s Technical Regulation and Metrology Committee in July 2021.

Kuwait: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has banned all export and re-export of cement and other construction materials from Kuwait. However, it has allowed individual citizens to import construction materials for personal use. The ban is part of a raft of a measures intended to stem the increase in building material prices. The Kuwait News Agency has reported that cement prices rose after the resurgence of the coronavirus outbreak in India suspended Indian imports.

The ministry subsidises building materials including cement and concrete. In May 2021 it paid US$45m towards such subsidies. It continues to monitor the cement market and cement production for ‘unlawful’ price rises.

Kuwait’s cement production capacity is 9.0Mt/yr, while 2020 consumption was 6.0Mt.

Uzbekistan: Imported cement has begun to enter Uzbekistan after the government ended a ban on the ‘import of cement products’ on 23 May 2020. Uzbekistan Daily News has reported that the protectionist measure was lifted due to a spike in cement demand from the construction sector following an easing in the country’s coronavirus lockdown.

Kazakhstan: The acting Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan has signed an order regarding the regulation of several types of cement. This includes the provision for a ban on the import of cement from countries not within the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) for six months from Monday 27 April 2020. Specifically the ban concerns cement clinkers, Portland cement, alumina cement and other forms of hydraulic cement.

Ghana: Carlos Ahenkorah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, says that government is considering a temporary block on imports on cement. However, he added the catch that it would only do this if local producers could ensure ‘fair’ pricing, according to the News Statesman newspaper. He made the comments at an award dinner organised by CIMAF.

Kenya: Devki Group subsidiary National Cement has launched its second Kenyan plant in Salgaa in Nakuru county at a cost of US$58.0m. Business Daily News has reported that the 0.75Mt integrated plant will supply cement to Kenya, South Sudan and southern Ethiopia.

Devki Group chairman Narendra Raval said that the completion of a 0.75Mt/yr second line at National Cement’s 1.2Mt/yr Kajiado County plant would bring the group’s total capacity to 3.5Mt/yr in July 2020, in a speech in which he lobbied the government to ban clinker imports. “We are gearing towards fixing the country’s clinker gap and making Kenya a regional market for raw material in cement production,” said Raval. The group also produces its Simba brand cement in Uganda.

Pakistan: The end of 2019 has seen a flurry of 13 proposals for the construction of new plants and one proposed upgrade submitted to different government departments across Pakistan’s five Punjabi districts. The Balochistan Times has reported that Punjab Minister for Trade and Industries Mian Aslam Iqbal stressed the need for cement companies to provide plans for minimal water use in order to receive clearance.

South Africa: The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) has confiscated cement supplied by Rainbow Power Cement due to non-compliance with the requirements of the compulsory specification on cement. The NRCS has issued a directive against the sale and supply of such products.

“Rainbow Power Cement does not have the authority to manufacture and supply cement in South Africa as it had failed to meet minimum safety requirements in line with the NRCS Act. This has therefore led to withdrawal of the Letter of Authority as previously issued by the NRCS,” said the regulator in a statement. It added that sub-standard cement can negatively affect the sustainability of buildings and structures leading to higher maintenance costs and even structural failures.

The NRCS said that non-compliant cement was initially identified and confiscated in Gauteng province but that there were signs that the cement had also been distributed in other provinces.

Rainbow Power Cement said that it is moving to a new certifying body, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). It acknowledged that it is unable to sell any cement until this process is completed.

Ukraine/Russia: The Ukrainian government has imposed an embargo on Russian-manufactured cement and plywood in response to Russia’s ban on the entry of Ukrainian goods to the Russian market. The Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Ministry recommended to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine that imports be blocked for the following goods: Portland cement, calcium aluminate cement, slag cement, sulphate resistant cement and similar hydraulic cement varieties, pigmented and non-pigmented, finished or clinker, as well as glue wood, lamwood panels and similar materials made from laminated wood.

Ukraine imported an estimated US$17m worth of cement products from Russia in 2018. The latest sanctions follow a block by Russia on goods from Ukraine in mid-April 2019.

Gabon: Ciments de l’Afrique (CIMAF) Gabon’s sales have grown due to a ‘strong’ demand for cement following a ban of imports since July 2017. Its turnover grew by 37% year-on-year to US$22.8m in first half of 2018 from US$16.7m in the same period in 2017, according to Direct Infos Gabon. Its sales of cement rose by 42% to 0.18Mt from 0.13Mt. Its production also rose by 38% to 0.18Mt from 0.13Mt. Previously, the cement producer said it was planning to start a new production line at its Cimgabon integrated plant by November 2018.