Displaying items by tag: Clinker

Ghana: CBI Ghana has said that its costs have increased because it has had to import clinker during an on-going local shortage. The Ghana News Agency newspaper has reported that the Supacem cement producer attributes a rise in its cement prices to the cost increase.

Commercial manager Kobby Adams said, “The rising cost of cements is due to the unavailability of some products and these materials are imported in large quantities at exorbitant charges coupled with the unstable and high import charges.” He warned customers against accepting counterfeit products to circumvent the rising prices. “CBI Ghana pledges to continue with the expansion to be able to reach and serve more customers,” he added.

India: Star Cement has announced the completion of its US$61m grinding plant project in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. The Press Trust of India has reported that the 2Mt/yr grinding plant is set to enter production shortly. This will bring the company’s installed capacity to 6.3Mt/yr. The company intends to source clinker from its integrated cement plant in Meghalaya that has mines nearby. Fly ash will be procured from West Bengal or Bihar.

Star Cement plans to discontinue its lease of another grinding plant in Siliguri, West Bengal, at the end of January 2021.

Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d'Algérie (GICA) has completed the export of 41,000t of clinker to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Algeria Press Service has reported that the company exported the clinker, produced at the Hadjar Soud (SCHS) cement plant, from the port of Annaba.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Youcef Merabet said, “Hadjar Soud cement plant, which operates two production lines totalling 0.9Mt/yr of cement production capacity, will promote its exports in 2021 especially as the demand for clinker will exceed 200,000t.”

US: CRH subsidiary Ash Grove Cement says that it is undertaking an upgrade of its Port Manatee, Florida deep water cement terminal to install a high capacity FLSmidth Kovako unloader and modernise existing material transfer and electrical systems, as well as establishing self-loading capabilities. The aim of the upgrade is “to improve Ash Grove’s capacity to import cement clinker, slag and fly ash to meet the existing and future needs of customers in the Florida and South Georgia markets.

Regional president Monica Manolas said, “The underlying fundamentals in the Florida market are positive with good population and employment growth. The upgrade of the Port Manatee import terminal will expand our capabilities and strengthen our ability to meet growing demand in the region.”

The company says that construction will begin in early 2021 and the upgraded terminal will open in late 2021.

Estonia: Cement producers achieved a total output of 129,000t of cement in the first half of 2020, down by 31% year on year from 187,000t in the first half of 2019. Eesti Statistika has reported that the sharpest decline was in June 2020, by 41% year-on-year to 25,800t from 43,700t. Estonian clinker production ended on 27 March 2020 with the closure of Kunda Nordic Cement’s 0.8Mt/yr integrated Kunda cement plant in Lääne-Viru County.

Vietnam: Producers have reported a 5.4% fall in value of cement and clinker exports to US$732m in the first seven months of 2020 from US$774m in the corresponding period of 2019. Volumes increased by 11% to 19.5Mt from 17.6Mt. Dautu Online News has reported that Bangladesh, China and the Philippines were among import markets for Vietnamese cement.

The Ministry of Construction maintains its 2019 projection of 32Mt – 33Mt of cement and clinker exports in 2020.

Bangladesh: Cement producers imported US$760,000-worth of raw materials in the 2020 financial year which ended on 30 June 2020, down by 13% year-on-year from US$874,000 in the 2019 financial year. Clinker, calcareous stone, granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and gypsum imports totalled 18.6Mt, down by 11% from 21.0Mt, compared to annual growth of 15 - 20% since 2010.

The Daily Star newspaper has reported that this was due to decreased cement demand, with sales falling to 65,000t in April 2020 from 125,000t in March 2020 on account of the start of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Premier Cement managing director Amirul Islam said, “We are not getting the benefits we expected from the government. The sector’s capital is gradually running out, so all kinds of discretionary tax cuts are needed to save this industry.”

Bangladeshi cement producers import raw materials from Thailand, Vietnam and China.

Vietnam: Cement producers sold 45.7Mt of cement and clinker in the first half of 2020, down by 3% year-on-year from 47.1Mt in the first half of 2019. Exports grew by 1% to 15.6Mt from 15.4Mt. The Vietnamese National Cement Association (VNCA) says that producers retain a total of 0.8Mt of cement and 4.2Mt of clinker in inventory.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement has dispatched 27,800t of clinker to Senegal from its new Lagos cement terminal in Apapa Port, Lagos State. M2 Presswire News has reported that the terminal will now begin dispatches of 984,000t/yr of clinker to Cameroon. Dangote Cement aims to serve the whole of West Africa with 4Mt/yr of clinker exports from the terminal. Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) acting director general Chuma Oruche said, “The export of clinker by Dangote Cement will be beneficial to the Nigerian economy in terms of export earnings, job creation and wealth creation for families connected with these achievements.”

Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) has reported sales of 79,800 bags/day of cement between 4 May 2020 and 8 May 2020. Demand had collapsed in April 2020 due to restrictions on construction resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. Esmerk Latin American News has reported that newly reopened distributors collected their orders and that a number of customers purchased more than their usual volume in anticipation of a further easing of lockdown. INC has placed an order for 40,000t of imported clinker to help production to meet demand.