Displaying items by tag: Clinker

Kenya: Cement companies are in the process of expanding their total clinker production capacity by 70% to 10.7Mt/yr by 2023 from 6.3Mt/yr. The Business Daily newspaper has reported that six producers – Bamburi Cement, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), Karsan Ramji & Sons, National Cement, Rai Cement and Savannah Cement – will add a total of 4.4Mt/yr to their clinker capacities.

Global Cement News previously reported that Kenya faced a 3.3Mt/yr national clinker shortage on 13 October 2021. Domestic producers are in the process of lobbying the government to raise the duty on imports of clinker to 25% from 10%.

Kenya: A report by the National Independent Clinker Verification Committee has found that the country has a clinker shortage of up to 3.3Mt/yr. It added that 59% of the imported clinker to compensate for this originates from Egypt without any tariffs, according to the East African newspaper. The committee was originally set up by the government in response to lobbying from industry to increase the duty on imported clinker to 25% from 10% at present. However, the committee also reported that Egypt has benefited from a free trade agreement. Local producers are divided against the proposal to raise tariffs on clinker as some of them reply on imports.

The report found that 3.8Mt of clinker was produced locally in 2020 against a demand of 5.3Mt. Local producers were reported to have been operating at a 65% capacity utilisation rate. Egypt and the UAE accounted for 92% of all clinker imports with a further 7% supplied by Saudi Arabia.

Vietnam: Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) members sold 77.5Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2021, up by 3.5% year-on-year. Vietnamese cement exports rose by 19% over the same period, to 31.9Mt. This corresponds to 41% of total sales. State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) exported 14.5Mt of cement, 45% of national cement exports. Viet Nam News has reported that the country ended the nine-month period with 3.6Mt of cement and clinker in inventory.

Bolivia: Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (FANCESA) has received an order for 8000t of clinker from Chile. The Correo del Sur newspaper has reported that the company previously delivered 1000t of clinker to Chile-based Cbb’s grinding operations in the country. The producer says that it is in the process of securing a supply contract for 80,000t/yr of clinker with its Chilean customer.

Cameroon: A delegation of LafargeHolcim Maroc Afrique representatives has met Minister of Commerce Luc-Magloire Mbarga Atangana to ask him to raise the legally enacted price of cement. The company says that its subsidiary Cimencam’s costs have risen by US$3.58 – 5.37m due to increased clinker prices. This has reportedly resulted in increased costs per bag of US$2.15.

Mbarga Atanga told the World Trade Organisation that clinker prices doubled and gypsum prices rose by 60%year-on-year in the first half of 2021. The Ministry of Commerce previously raised cement prices in 2011.

Vietnam: Member of the Vietnam Cement Association produced 70.7Mt of cement and clinker in the first eight months of 2021, up by 4% year-on-year from 27.2Mt in the corresponding period of 2020. Its exports rose by 12% to 27.2Mt. Viet Nam News has reported that the main importers of Vietnamese cement and clinker were China, the Philippines and Bangladesh. During the period, domestic demand fell by 5% to 43.5Mt.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has launched H-Iona clinkerless cement, its first cement to be made available to retail customers in bagged form. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that H-Iona cement production’s CO2 emissions are 150kg/t, according to the producer. It claims that this is just 17% that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies produces H-Iona, primarily from ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and gypsum, heat-free at its fully automated Bournezeau plant.

Co-founder Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmannsaid "By launching H-Iona, the lowest carbon cement on the European market, Hoffmann Green Cement is following its continuous innovation approach.” They added “This is the first low-carbon cement to have received CE marking. Thanks to this ground breaking technology, we are democratising access to low-carbon cement.”

Oman: Oman Cement plans to upgrade its 4.2Mt/yr Rusayl cement plant. Reuters News has reported that the producers’ plans consist of a 25% capacity expansion of Line 3 of the plant to 5000t/day from 4000t/day and the construction of a new 10,000t/day Line 4. Lines 1 and 2 will subsequently shut down. Thus, the upgrade will increase the plant’s nominal clinker capacity to 15,000t/day from 8700t/day.

Turkey: 120,000 members of the Construction Contractors Confederation (IMKON) downed tools on 9 September 2021 in protest against high cement prices. Emerging Market Watch News has reported that the strike will last until 21 September 2021 or until ‘satisfactory developments.’

The Ministry of Trade has tightened procedural restrictions on exporting clinker. Trade Minister Mehmet Mus is in talks with construction and cement industry representatives.

Morocco: The government of Morocco has tightened cement and clinker quality standards. The Le Matin newspaper has reported that the new standards will see cement and clinker assessed on the basis of higher consistency and final product durability standards than previously.