Displaying items by tag: Import

Russia: Eurocement Group intends that its Podgorensky cement plant will fight imports from Turkey and Iran. The Russian cement producer's plant in the Voronezh Region in the south of the country will help to replace 80% of imports from these countries, said Eurocement president Mikhail Skorokhod in a press conference reported upon by the Moscow Times.

"If you look at the southern ports, you'll see that the amount of incoming cement has fallen sharply," said Skorokhod. "That is because the Podgorensky plant came into being." He added that the customers agreed to switch to the more expensive Eurocement products after the company convinced them of their higher quality.

Imports accounted for almost 8% of the 65.2Mt of cement that the Russian market consumed in 2012, an increase from 5% in 2011. Skorokhod said Iran's state-owned companies were able to offer lower prices because they receive subsidies from a government that is under US-led trade restrictions. Eurocement may also turn to the World Trade Organization for an antidumping investigation.

Weston is off. The 'will-they, won't they' of the New Zealand cement industry took a more decisive turn this week with the announcement that Holcim New Zealand intends to import cement instead.

Once Holcim's existing cement plant at Westport winds down there will be no more indigenous cement production on New Zealand's South Island. Golden Bay Cement on North Island will be left as the nation's sole cement producer. Instead Holcim now plans to build US$80m on an import terminal and related infrastructure.

Given a previous price tag of US$400m for the Weston project, switching to an import strategy makes sense for Holcim which has had a hard time of late with a poor first quarter following a tough year in 2012. Despite the benefits that the construction sector in New Zealand has seen with the rebuilding following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Holcim is thinking of its wider strategy. Although, as one of the largest multinational cement producers, Holcim has a wide supply chain for clinker, Australia reported poor sales in 2012 and it would be an obvious hub to keep New Zealand topped up with sufficient product.

Last week's doubts about the Indian cement market – when Holcim announced major business restructuring in India – may also have an effect as Vicat too has reported problems in the country this week. The question to ask when Holcim releases its half-year results in mid-August 2013 is how much excess capacity does the company have?

Coincidentally, importing cement is one issue that has come up in the UK Competition Commission's on-going investigation into the UK cement industry. An Irish cement importer has alleged that unnamed European cement producers have blocked his attempts to import cement to Ireland. The UK Competition Commission will continue its investigation until late 2013. Whilst we are not suggesting that the New Zealand cement industry has any problems of this kind, as the market adjusts to a higher level of imports it will encounter new challenges.

Tanzania: The Tanzanian government has formed a seven person team to investigate alleged subsidies, tax evasion and the quality of cement imported from Pakistan. Minister for Industry and Trade, Dr Abdallah Kigoda, said that the team will help to understand the quality, manufacturing cost and selling price of cement from Pakistan to help in creation of fair competition in the local market.

The team comprises experts from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Trade, local cement manufacturers, Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), Tanzania Bureau of Standards, Fair Competition Commission and Tanzania Revenue Authority.

In 2012, over 200,000t of cement was imported from Pakistan to Tanzania and in 2013 over 300,000t had been imported, according to Director of Policy and Advocacy with CTI, Hussein Kamote. Currently Tanzania has a demand for cement of 4Mt/yr with a cement production capacity of 3Mt/yr.

Turkmenistan: Cement imports to Turkmenistan will have to pay a 100% customs duty starting on 1 August 2013, according to the Turkmenistan.ru news portal. The resolution was signed by President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov in order to support domestic production and to streamline the import of cement. A minimum customs import duty of US$200/t will be imposed.

Nepal: Amid cement manufacturers' claims that Nepal has become self-reliant in terms of cement production, cement imports have actually risen by 15.5% in the first 10 months of the country's current fiscal year, which runs until 15 July 2013.

In the review period, Nepal imported cement worth US$34.6m, against the imports worth US$30.0m in the same period a year earlier, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre statistics. Over the period, the country also saw seven new cement factories commissioned or announced.

According to Aatma Ram Murarka, former president of the Nepal Cement Manufacturers Association (NCMA), the imports went up because of the ongoing development projects with foreign investment. "In case of projects with foreign investment, the government has provided customs, tax and VAT waivers on cement imports from India," said Murarka.

Murarka said that domestic manufacturers have repeatedly demanded that the government roll back the provision because they say that local production can meet the market demand. "The government hasn't reviewed it seriously," he said, adding that projects being undertaken by Nepali contractors were, however, using domestic products.

Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Port Authority (SPA) has said that cement shipments have been arriving since King Abdullah decree for the country to import 10Mt was issued in April 2013. About 350,000t of cement have been shipped from the UAE and Egypt through various Saudi ports.

"Shipments have come through Dammam, Jeddah and Jazan ports, some through Yanbu and some others are scheduled to arrive through Jubail and Dammam ports," said Musaid Al-Darees, press spokesman for the SPA. Al-Darees added that incoming shipments from the UAE will help face the continuing cement crisis. Around 90% of cement comes from Al-Batha Port, which is witnessing a lot of incoming shipments from the UAE. Shipments from Egypt form only 10% of total imports coming through Jeddah Islamic Port.

Tanzania: Tanga Cement Company (TCC) has raised concerns over the perceived failure by the government, through its 2013/14 national budget, to address indiscriminate imports of untaxed cement, particularly from Pakistan.

"I was a bit disappointed to see that the government has not taken stern measures to appropriately tax imported cement and curb all loopholes for tax evasion," said TCC Managing Director, Erik Westerberg, who highlighted that untaxed cement imports were not only denying the government significant tax revenue, but were also subjecting local manufacturers to unfair competition. He asked the government to take tough action against tax evasion in the interests of the national economy and domestic industries.

Tanzania's cement manufacturers are increasingly concerned about cement being smuggled to the Tanzanian mainland via the island of Zanzibar.

Saudi Arabia: Commercial ports in Saudi Arabia are ready to process more cement and clinker, according to a Ports Authority (PA) spokesman quoted by Arab News. The move supports a command issued by the King of the country in April 2013 that ordered 10Mt of cement to cope with local shortage.

The PA has set up 17 docking stations for handling and storage of cement and clinker. Jeddah, Dammam and Jubail have four stations each. Yanbu, Dhuba and Jazan are equipped with one site each. The authority has agreed with Saudi Arabia-based Southern Province Cement Company to import cement and clinker through the Jazan Port, as well as with Yanbu Cement Company for clinker imports. All the ports are required to support the cement companies in providing enough space for storage and loading.

Tanzania: Tanga Cement has accused cement imports into Tanzania via Zanzibar of undermining the prospects of local producers and dodging tax. Managing Director Erik Westerberg made the comments at Tanga Cement's 2013 annual general meeting. A report covering the meeting by All Africa Global Media placed the tax loss at about US$9.2m/yr.

According to Westerberg, cement consumption in the semi-autonomous province of Zanzibar appeared to be three or four times that of mainland Tanzania despite the absence of any major infrastructure or construction projects. Westerberg appealed to the government to take action and protect mainland cement producers from smugglers along the Indian Ocean coast.

Nigeria: Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has announced plans to create a new tariff on imported bulk cement. The move follows the alleged cement 'glut' surrounding a dispute between importer Ibeto Cement and leading producer Dangote Cement in late 2012. The current duty on imported bulk cement is 10% but no levy is imposed on the commodity.

At a meeting on Nigerian business competitiveness organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Aganga said that there was no basis for importing cement clinker since Nigeria has a cement production capacity of 28.6Mt/yr. He also stated that at no time did he issue any import permit for bulk cement in 2012.