Displaying items by tag: Iran

Iran: 56 cement companies out of 78 have joined the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME), a commodities exchange based in Tehran. Abbas Yaghoubi, Director of Commodity Exchange Market Operations, told the Mehr News Agency that all the country’s cement will eventually be traded on the exchange. The IME has to set a based offering volume for every cement production factory. The remaining cement producers outside of the IME have been asked to join and the Iranian Cement Industry Association has written to them also on the matter. Yaghoubi revealed that cement trading on the exchange reached 1Mt/week in August 2021 after starting from around 0.1Mt/week.

Uzbekistan: Cement production grew by 23% year-on-year to 5.8Mt in the first half of 2021. Data from the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan shows that production increased fastest in the second quarter. It was previously reported that the country imported 1Mt of cement in the first four months of the year. 48% came from Kazakhstan, 27% from the Kyrgyzstan, 23% from Tajikistan and 1% from both Iran and Turkmenistan.

Iran: Alireza Razm Hosseini, the Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, says that the government will prioritise electricity supplies to the cement and steel sectors. He admitted that recent power rationing to industrial users had reduced production levels but that demand had not changed, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The ministry is currently working with the Ministry of Energy to resolve the problem. Cement and steel producers were previously ordered in early July 2021 to stop production for up to three weeks due to insufficient electricity supplies.

Iran: Cement and steel producers have been ordered to stop production for up to three weeks due to insufficient electricity supplies. A spokesman for the electricity industry said that the cut in supply was now necessary after heavy industrial customers had failed to observer a voluntary request, according to the Fars News Agency. Electricity supplies will be reduced to 10% of normal levels during the period.

Georgia: Georgian Cement Company (GCC) has warned of cement dumping by Iran and Turkey. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim is lobbying the government for protective legislation, according to Prime News. GCC operates a 0.3Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Poti. The country consumes 2.5Mt/yr and 1.5Mt/yr of this comprises imports. HeidelbergCement and Eurocement also operate plants locally.

Iran: Abyek Cement Complex has relaunched a 8500t/day production line at its plant in Abyek, Qazvin province following repairs. Alireza Razm Hosseini, head of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, attended the event. The production line is the largest in the country, according to the ministry. Cement produced at the plant will be exported.

The Tehran Times newspaper has reported that the relaunch brings the total national capacity to 80Mt/yr across 74 plants. Domestic demand was 70Mt in the 2021 financial year, which ended on 21 March 2021.

Iran: Hashem Nezamabadi, the managing director of Kaveh Pars Mining Industries Development Company, says that the Mostazafan Foundation and its subsidiaries have started production of oil well cement. Subsequently the country will no longer need to import this type of cement, according to the Trend News Agency. The specialist cement will be used to support the country’s oil industry.

Armenia: The Armenian parliament has agreed to establish a customs duty of Euro22/t for cement and Euro3/t for clinker on imports from Iran and other countries. The government had initially hoped to imposed Euro39/t and Euro14/t on cement and clinker respectively but this was declined by the legislative body, according to the ArmInfo News Agency. Imported cement will also be recognised as licensed. The new bill will come into effect in July 2021.

A previous customs duty of Euro22/t imports of Iranian cement was set up in mid-2019. However, Iranian cement imports were then banned at the start of 2021. Production by local producers grew in 2020 and imports fell.

Iran: Hossein Modares Khyabani, the former head of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, has called for cement to be traded on the Mercantile Exchange, a commodities exchange based in Tehran. He hoped that the move would enable cement producers to upgrade plants and increase exports, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. The aim is to have producers generate mhigher profits and build infrastructure development.

Local cement production grew by 13% year-on-year to 68Mt in the Iranian calendar year to March 2021. However, gas, electricity and transportation costs all grew significantly during the period.

Iran: National cement production increased to 68.3Mt in the 2021 financial year, which ended on 20 March 2021. The figure corresponds to 79% utilisation of the country’s 87.0Mt/yr production capacity. The Tehran Times newspaper has reported that Iranian cement consumption during the year was 65.0Mt and exports were 11.0Mt. Iran supplied both cement and production equipment to its neighbouring countries.