Displaying items by tag: Export

Congo: The Ministry of Industrial Development and Private Sector Promotion is conducting a special forum on the cement industry in the Republic of Congo in Brazzaville on 18 – 19 August 2025, with the aim being to make the sector more competitive in the global market. Minister Antoine Thomas Nicéphore Fylla Saint Eudes will lead proceedings.

Saint Eudes said “Congo is preparing for its entry into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), scheduled in a few years. Thanks to its significant reserves of limestone and clay, our ambition is to make it a cement hub for the sub-region.”

Peru: National cement despatches rose by 6% year-on-year to 1.1Mt in July 2025 and by 2% over the past 12 months, according to the Asociación de Productores de Cemento (ASOCEM). Cement production grew by 6.5% year-on-year to 0.97Mt, while clinker output fell by 22% year-on-year to 0.69Mt. Cement exports rose by 28% year-on-year to 13,300t, and clinker exports fell by 12% compared to July 2024 to 32,600t. Cement imports dropped by 63% compared to the previous corresponding period to 8000t, while clinker imports grew by 81% to 85,000t.

Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum announced the start of work on five cement plants in Kandahar, Herat, Parwan, Jawzjan and Logar with a total investment of US$750m, according to Ariana News. Some of these facilities are expected to start production later in 2025 or early 2026. Once operational, these plants will enable the country to produce 15,000t/day of cement, raising national output to 5.5Mt/yr and potentially allowing for export to nearby countries. The news outlet reported that currently 90% of the cement available domestically is imported.

Saudi Arabia: Cement sales by the country’s 17 producers rose by 21% year-on-year to 13.1Mt in the second quarter of 2025, according to Al Yamama Cement. Local demand grew by 23% and accounted for 97% of total despatches, while exports fell by 16% to account for 3% of sales.

Al Yamama Cement led the market with 1.93Mt of local sales, followed by Saudi Cement with 1.36Mt, Qassim Cement with 1.14Mt and Yanbu Cement with 1.00Mt. Saudi Cement topped exports with 376,000t sold, ahead of Najran Cement with 50,000t and Eastern Province Cement at 5000t. Cement expert and CEO at consultancy firm A³&Co Amr Nader said “East Africa and Yemen have seen rising local production, such as capacity expansions in Kenya and the reactivation of plants in Ethiopia, alongside aggressive pricing from Turkiye and Iran.”

Clinker production grew by 13% year-on-year to 14.8Mt, with Saudi Cement producing 2.15Mt. Clinker inventories rose by 3% from 2024 to 134Mt by the end of June 2025, led by Southern Province Cement with 20.2Mt. Clinker exports increased by 39% year-on-year to 1.63Mt. Key markets included Bangladesh, Kenya, Benin, Ghana and Yemen.

Argentina: Cement consumption reached 0.88Mt in July 2025, a 10% increase compared to June 2025, although it remained 3% lower than July 2024, according to data from the Asociación de Fabricantes de Cemento Portland (AFCP). Despatches totalled 0.89Mt, down by 3% year-on-year but up by 9% month-on-month.

Exports fell to 3502t in July 2025 from 5250t in June 2025, while imports increased to 312t from 147t the previous month. Accumulated consumption for the first seven months of 2025 stood at 5.66Mt, up by 10% from the same period in 2024. Despatches for the first seven months of 2025 reached 5.70Mt, marking a 10% increase year-on-year.

Pakistan: Cement despatches rose by 30% year-on-year to 3.99Mt in July 2025 from 3.07Mt in July 2024, according to data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Local sales grew by 18% to 2.98Mt during the period, while exports increased significantly, by 84%, to 1.01Mt from 0.54Mt previously.

An APCMA spokesperson said “The new fiscal year started on a positive note in spite of disturbing weather conditions in most parts of the country.” The APCMA expressed hope for continued momentum for the rest of 2025, supported by improved macroeconomic indicators.

Poland: The Internal Affairs Ministry has announced sanctions on the Belarusian Cement Company (BCC). The Belarus-based company has been added to the List of Persons and Enterprises Subject to Sanctions, according to Interfax. The authorities will freeze funds connected to the company and exclude it from public procurement or tenders amongst other measures.

The government has taken this action as it believes that funds generated by BCC indirectly support serious human rights violations, repression against civil society and the democratic opposition, and its activities pose a serious threat to democracy or the rule of law in Belarus. It has also associated the company with actions that destabilise or undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

The ministry said that BCC was a ‘significant’ supplier of cement to Poland in 2021 – 2022 but that these exports decreased significantly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, it noted that that activities by the company outside of Belarus have grown since 2023 with the opening of a new subsidiary in Russia, BCK-Union Trading House, and mounting exports.

BCC has also been on the US sanctions list since late 2023. The EU imposed sanctions against cement industry as a whole in Belarus in mid-2022.

Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan exported 449,800t of cement and clinker in the first half of 2025 according to the State Customs Committee. This marks a 33.8% rise compared to the same period of 2024. The growth reflects rising demand for Azerbaijani cement in neighbouring and regional markets, particularly as reconstruction and infrastructure projects accelerate in countries such as Georgia and Türkiye, as well as parts of Central Asia.

The committee said that cement products accounted for 0.22% of the country’s total exports and 1.65% of non-oil exports during the reporting period. It added that this increase supports Azerbaijan’s broader strategy to boost non-oil exports and diversify its economy.

Cement consumption data for the first half of 2025 from Russia has been released this week and it is down from 2024. Added to this, Cemros announced earlier in July 2025 that it is preparing to suspend production at its Belgorod cement plant. What can these and other news stories tell us about the state of the Russian cement sector at present?

Graph 1: Cement consumption in Russia, 2019 - H1 2025. Source: Soyuzcement.

Figures from Soyuzcement, the Union of Cement Producers, in the local press reports that consumption fell by 8.6% year-on-year to 27.2Mt in the first half of 2025 from 28.4Mt in the same period in 2024. By region the largest declines were noted in the south (-14%), the Urals (-13%) and in Siberia (-11%). Producer Sibcem released some production data for the first half, also this week, and this reflected the national picture, with a 9% fall.

The national situation has been blamed on a suspension of infrastructure projects, a fall in the domestic building sector and mounting imports. Imports rose by 5.8% to 1.9Mt. Notably those trade flows have been coming in from other countries with restricted access to international markets such as Belarus and Iran. A China-based company Jinyu Jidong Cement in the far-eastern Heilongjiang Province also started exporting cement to Russia in July 2025. Unusually though, for these kinds of stories, exports from Russia have also risen. They grew by 9% to 0.5Mt, mainly to Kazakhstan. The general picture fits with Soyuzcement’s updated forecast for the local market from 2025 to 2027. It expects a decline of 6 - 12% in 2025 as a whole, followed by a change of -6% to +1% in 2026 and then the start of a recovery in 2027 under most scenarios.

One reaction to the shrinking market became apparent earlier in July 2025 when Cemros said it was preparing to suspend production at its Belgorod cement plant. The company plans to use the stoppage to assess the market, reduce its operating costs and consider market diversification options. It blamed the decision on a decrease in demand in the domestic market in Russia along with lower profits and higher imports. Back in May 2025, Cemros, the leading Russia-based cement producer, said that it had 18 plants, a total production capacity of 33Mt/yr and a 31% share of the local market. It also reported that it had two mothballed plants: the Savinsky cement plant in Arkhangelsk and the Zhigulovskiye plant in the Samara region. Although, to be fair to Cemros, up until fairly recently it had been spending money on its plants. It resumed clinker production in mid-2024 when it restarted one production line at its Ulyanovsk plant in mid-2024. Then in May 2025 it said it was getting ready to restart the second line at the site too as part of a €8m renovation project. Once back online the unit will have a total production capacity of 0.8Mt/yr. Another recent plant project by Cemros was the upgrade of a kiln at Katavsky Cement that was completed in June 2025. Elsewhere, Kavkazcement was reportedly planning to invest US$224m on equipment upgrades in April 2025 in response to a large rise in production costs in 2024.

The larger problem facing the Russian construction industry and the building material producers that supply it is the ongoing economic fallout from the war in Ukraine. The head of the country’s national bank said at the start of July 2025 that the nation had broadly adapted to economic sanctions and that inflation was slowing down. Growing cement demand since 2021 broadly supports this view. Yet, governor Elvira Nabiullina warned of further market turmoil ahead due to a slowing economy and high labour costs. This spells uncertainty for the cement sector as underlined by Soyuzcement’s gloomy forecasts for 2025 and 2026. In this kind of environment market mergers and acquisitions seem likely but international sanctions may limit the options. One general remedy the government has been advocating for has been the formation of a common commodities exchange for the Eurasian Economic Union that was suggested in late 2024. However, Soyuzcement has been lobbying against the proposal on the grounds of price volatility, increased competition and a reluctance by producers to join it. The cement sector in Russia faces challenging times ahead.

Taiwan: The Customs Administration has imposed five-year anti-dumping duties on Portland cement and clinker imported from Vietnam, according to the Taipei Times. Cement imported from Long Son and affiliate Long Son Industrials faces a 14% tariff, Thang Long Cement will be taxed at 19%, while Vissai Ninh Binh, Xuan Thanh Cement and Vicem Ha Tien Cement will be subject to a 15% rate. All other Vietnam-based producers and exporters will be taxed at 23%.

The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Affairs confirmed that companies had dumped cement and ‘caused substantial harm’ to local producers in a statement. The Ministry also found no sufficient evidence that the duties would have a markedly negative effect on Vietnam’s ‘overall economic situation.’

An investigation into dumping of cement from Vietnam began in August 2024 after the Taiwan Cement Industry Association applied for anti-dumping duties, citing suspected dumping and harm to domestic industries.