Displaying items by tag: Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan: MP Alisher Kozuyev has called for the removal of the ban on importing Uzbek cement, stating during a parliamentary committee meeting on 24 September 2024 that it would reduce prices and enhance quality for Kyrgyz consumers by increasing market competition. He argued that the current ban supports local monopolies and raises domestic cement prices. The ban was introduced three months ago and is designed to protect local manufacturers, according to officials. Nonetheless, deputy minister of economy and commerce, Choro Seyitov, warned that cheaper Uzbek cement could threaten local industries, especially in the Osh region, and risk jobs and tax revenue. Seyitov also noted that some Uzbek cement does not meet Kyrgyz standards and certification requirements, and accused Uzbek exporters of price dumping.

Kyrgyzstan: A partly state-owned consortium of companies including Terek Tash and Zenit has commissioned a new 1.5Mt/yr clinker plant in Kemin, Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast. Central Asia News has reported that the plant is intended to supply clinker for use in cement production at an upcoming grinding plant at Novo-Pokrovka in Chui. The projects have a combined value of US$150m.

Kyrgyzstan: China-based Yunsheng Mining (Yunnan) and China Yunsheng Group have signed an agreement with the Kyrgyz government to build a cement plant in Tyup, Issyk-Kul region. Business World Magazine has reported that the partners will also establish a hydroelectric power plant next to the plant. Yunsheng Mining (Yunnan) said that the project will help to promote a new model of economic cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and China, based on the integration of commodities and energy.

Kyrgyzstan: The government says that construction of the upcoming 1Mt/yr Tash-Kumyr cement plant in Jalal-Abad region is 60% complete, and the plant is on track for commissioning in 2025. Central Asia News has reported that the facility will employ 250 – 300 people.

Kyrgyzstan: 174,800t of cement entered Kyrgyzstan in the first half of 2024, more than double first-half 2023 import volumes of 83,200t. Neighbouring Kazakhstan supplied 152,000t (87%) of the total, according to data from the Kyrgyz National Statistical Committee. Central Asia News has reported that other imports originated from China, Iran and Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan’s first-half cement production declined by 2% year-on-year in the period under review, to 1.3Mt. However, it grew by 10% year-on-year in June 2024. The country exported 190,000t of cement throughout the first half of 2024, all of it to Uzbekistan, down by 21% from first-half 2023 levels.

A couple of stories have popped up this week regarding restrictions on cement imports. First, authorities in Taiwan have launched an anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese cement. Secondly, and perhaps more surprisingly given its growing economy, the authorities in Kyrgyzstan are planning to ban overland imports of cement from within Central Asia. More on that later…

First, to the Far East, where Taiwan’s Trade Remedies Authority has launched an anti-dumping investigation into cement and clinker imported from Vietnam. It will assess imports covering the year from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 and target seven specific Vietnamese cement producers among others. The Vietnamese companies are mandatory respondents – they will be compelled to answer investigators’ questions.

Vietnamese cement has long been among the cheapest in the region due to the country’s drive to hit production targets, rather than simply meeting demand. The situation has resulted in a vast amount of cement available for export. This, coupled to Vietnam’s long, indented coastline, makes it easy to ship cement overseas.

Even with export volumes falling by 1.2% year-on-year to 31.3Mt in 2023, around a third of Vietnam’s capacity, this is a massive volume of cement - and it’s only getting cheaper. The average export value of Vietnamese cement and clinker fell from US$46-48/t at the start of 2023 to just US$31-32/t in May 2024, a decline of 30-35%. These changes have been due, in part, to an increase in tax on clinker exports from 5% to 10% on 1 January 2023 and an anti-dumping investigation launched by the Philippines in March 2023. Falling prices and volumes represent a ‘double-whammy’ for producers, several of which have announced that they made losses in the first half of 2024. Vicem’s top management said that challenges also arose at home due to a reduced demand following limited civil engineering projects and a stagnant real estate market.

It is easy to see why Taiwanese cement producers may feel threatened by the prospect of greater volumes of cheap cement on their doorstep. Taiwan only made 4.9Mt/yr of cement in the first half of 2024. With domestic prices in the region of US$65-70/t according to Cement Network, this provides a very attractive margin of US$33-39/t for Vietnamese producers to export to Taiwan. It will be interesting to see how far the country’s authorities are willing to go to protect the country’s producers and whether any anti-dumping policies lead to further falls in the landed volumes of Vietnamese cement.

Meanwhile, 4600km to the west, Kyrgyzstan has announced that it will enforce a six-month road import ban on several types of cement including Portland cement, alumina cement and slag cement. The ban, affecting both cement and clinker, will take effect on 1 October 2024 and last for six months. According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, the country saw a 76% year-on-year increase in cement imports – mainly from Iran, Kazakhstan, China and Uzbekistan - between January 2024 and May 2024. The total import volume over the five months was 125,737t. For a country that made just 1Mt over the same period, this is a major change.

The overland import ban is more of a surprise than the Taiwan / Vietnam situation, as Kyrgyzstan recently reported that the North of the country was experiencing a ‘construction boom’ and cement shortages. However, two new plants due to start production in the coming months could help the country out... unless it too would like to export its newly-developed cement production capacity.

And here we arrive at a ‘classic’ impasse. From Pakistani cement in South Africa, to price arguments in West Africa, import bans in Central Asia and Vietnamese cement in Philippines and Taiwan, more and more exporters are finding that their markets are already self-sufficient in cement, with the US perhaps the notable exception. Soon there will be nowhere left for cement to be exported to. Are we at peak cement?

Kyrgyzstan: Starting on 1 October 2024, Kyrgyzstan will enforce a six-month road import ban on several types of cement including Portland cement, alumina cement and slag cement, according to Trend. The Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Akylbek Japarov, signed the decree affecting both ready and clinker forms of these cements. According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, a 76% year-on-year increase in cement imports from January - May 2024 has been reported, totalling 125,737t. These imports are predominantly from Iran, Kazakhstan, China and Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan: Amidst a nationwide construction boom, Kyrgyzstan faces a cement shortage in its northern regions, Central Asia News reports. The current production in northern plants is insufficient, leading to imports from Kazakhstan which do not meet demand.

Nurdan Oruntaev, Head of State Construction Agency, said “I think the problem will be resolved with the launch of two new cement plants, which are under construction. Prices can then be regulated."

Kyrgyzstan: Cement production in Kyrgyzstan totalled 1.01Mt from January to May 2024, a decline of 5.7% year-on-year from 1.08Mt, according to data from the country’s National Statistics Committee. May 2024 saw production of 0.36Mt of cement, a rise of 10.5% year-on-year from May 2023.

Kyrgyzstan: The Eurasian Development Bank is financing the construction of the Kulanak hydropower Plant with a capacity of 100MW and a new clinker line at the Kant cement plant.

"The substantial growth in the bank's investment portfolio in Kyrgyzstan, which reached 61.6% of the investments planned in the country strategy for 2022-2026, reflects the bank's commitment to increasing its project activities in the region," said Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB Board, during a meeting with Kyrgyzstan's Finance Minister, Almaz Baketaev.