Displaying items by tag: Production

South Korea: Gangwon-do governor Kim Jin-tae visited Halla Cement’s Gangneung Okgye plant on 13 November 2025 to discuss challenges facing the cement industry amid the country’s ongoing construction slowdown. Governor Kim reviewed progress on the government’s US$682m carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) ‘mega’ project, which aims to capture carbon dioxide from cement plants in Gangneung and Samcheok, as well as nearby coal-fired power plants. The captured CO₂ will be converted into e-methanol for eco-friendly ship fuel, lithium carbonate for secondary batteries, and new construction materials.

Kim said that Gangwon-do’s cement production accounts for 63% of nationwide production. He pledged full administrative support to ensure the project passes its preliminary feasibility study, according to local press. Halla Cement’s Okgye plant has only operated three of its four production lines since 2024, each producing 5500t/day of cement, after reducing output due to weak construction demand.

“There have been some concerns over dust and fine particles,” Kim said. “Cement and power companies have voluntarily signed an agreement to reduce emissions by 46%, and a second reduction agreement will be signed this month. As the industry continues its efforts, the province will actively support it by significantly reducing emission charges.”

South Korea: The Korea Cement Association, whose members include Sampyo Cement, Ssangyong C&E, Hanil Cement, Asia Cement, Halla Cement and Sungshin Cement, reported that domestic cement demand in 2025 is expected to reach 36.5Mt, down by 16.5% year-on-year, marking the lowest level since 1991, at 37.1Mt. Next year’s forecast indicates continued stagnation, with demand projected to decline a further 1% to around 36Mt.

According to the association, the country’s cement production peaked at 61.8Mt in 1997 before plunging to 44.6Mt during the 1998 financial crisis. Although production recovered to 56.71Mt by 2017, demand has since fallen by nearly 20Mt in just eight years.

An association official said, “While the sharp decline in domestic demand is quite shocking in numerical terms, the early 1990s were a period when the industry’s production capacity was 42.1Mt/yr, and cement domestic demand was rapidly increasing due to new town construction projects being developed in the outskirts of the Seoul metropolitan area as part of national policy. Currently, production capacity has increased to 61Mt/yr, but domestic demand is plummeting, so considering the utilisation rate, there is an enormous difference beyond simple numerical comparison.”

Cement exports rose by 52% to 4.5Mt in 2025, while for 2026, domestic demand is projected at 36Mt and exports at 3.5Mt.

Tajikistan: The country produced 3.7Mt of cement between January and September 2025, up by 512,000t or 16% year-on-year, according to the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade forecasts further growth, with production expected to reach 4.62Mt in 2026 and 4.82Mt in 2027, a 4% annual rise. Tajikistan has 16 cement plants, with more than 80% of total output coming from three Tajik-Chinese joint ventures: Jungtsai Mohir Cement, Huaxin Gayur Cement and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement.

New capacity is also under development. Orion Invest is building a 1.8Mt/yr cement plant in the Qubodiyon district of Khatlon province, which will reportedly become the largest facility in the country upon completion. The current largest producer is Tojikcement, near Dushanbe, which opened in 2023 with a 1.2Mt/yr capacity.

Argentina: Cement consumption increased to 968,000t in October 2025, up by 7% compared to 900,000t in October 2024, according to data from AFCP.

Of this total, 967,800t came from domestic production, while 559t were imported. Cumulative consumption for the first 10 months of 2025 reached 8.43Mt, up by 7% from 7.86Mt in the same period of 2024. Compared to September 2025, cement consumption grew by 5.5%.

Iraq: Operations have officially commenced at the VAN Cement Plant, according to Van Company for Industrial Investment and General Trading. The facility has a clinker production capacity of 7000t/yr and produces a range of cement types, including sulphate-resistant cement, ordinary Portland cement and CEM II. The plant will reportedly help to meet Iraq’s growing domestic demand for cement.

Egypt: Cement production rose to 17.6Mt between January and April 2025, up from 13.4Mt in the same period of 2024, according to data from the Central Bank of Egypt. Cement sales also grew to 14.1Mt, a year-on-year increase of 17%. The Cement Producers Division reports that 19 companies are operating in Egypt, with total investments exceeding US$4.8bn.

Cement exports reportedly reached US$770m in 2023, up by 14%, and US$780m in the first 10 months of 2024, up by 12%. The Export Council for Building Materials said that Egyptian cement was exported to 95 countries, led by African markets.

Uzbekistan: The Uzpromstroymaterialy Association reported that national cement production was 18Mt between January and September 2025, up by 28% year-on-year. Total installed capacity is now 40.5Mt/yr across 42 enterprises, an increase of 0.7Mt/yr from 2024. The rise in production of high-quality grades such as M-500 and M-600 cement led to an 89% decline in imports, which totalled 66,000t in the first nine months of 2025. Imports for the first half of 2025 were 38,000t, down by 91% from 2024.

Cement exports in the first nine months of 2025 were nearly 1.1Mt, almost four times higher than in the same period of 2024. The association said that the CIS free trade regime is supporting the expansion of foreign markets for Uzbek producers, while imports from CIS countries remain duty-free. It said that the competitiveness of domestic producers, their strong supply to the local market and rising export potential are strengthening Uzbekistan’s economic independence.

Kenya: Cement production rose to 920,000t in August 2025, up by 1% month-on-month from 907,000t in July 2025, keeping pace with rising demand. Consumption also reached a record 907,000t, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

The rebound follows the release of US$487m by the Treasury earlier in 2025 to clear unpaid bills to contractors, which allowed hundreds of stalled road and infrastructure projects to resume. The sector had previously contracted by 3% in the quarter ending June 2025 due to budget cuts, high material costs and reduced private lending.

Afghanistan: Ghori Cement Factory in Baghlan has more than doubled its daily cement production from 250-300t to 700t, according to Shafiullah Wahidi, head of the plant. He said that both the first and second units are operating normally, while construction of the third unit is ‘progressing rapidly’. Wahidi said that a third unit will be completed within 18 months, at an estimated cost of US$86m, increasing the plant’s total production capacity to 5000t/day.

Indonesia: Cement production in Indonesia fell by 8.0% year-on-year in September 2025 compared to September 2024. Volumes fell from 6.24Mt to 5.74Mt, according to data from the Asosiasi Semen Indonesia (ASI). Blended cement accounted for 4.10Mt (71% of production), with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) accounting for 1.64Mt (29%).

The nation’s cement producers sold 6Mt of cement in September 2025, 1.3% less than the 6.07Mt sold in the same month of 2024. All regions of the country experienced a decline in sales, with the sole exception of Bali-Nustra, which noted a 16.3% rise in despatches.

The biggest regional market, Java, saw despatches slip by 0.3% to 3.11Mt from 3.12Mt in September 2024. The next biggest region, Sumatra, saw a fall of 3.5%, from 1.36Mt to 1.31Mt. Despatches in the third-largest market of Sulawesi were down by 2.2% from 0.49Mt 0.48Mt.

In partial compensation for falling domestic sales, cement exports rose by 11.0% in September 2025 relative to a year earlier. Volumes rose from 90,400t to 100,350t. Top export markets, in descending order by volume, were East Timor, followed by the Maldives, the Philippines, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea. Small amounts of clinker were also exported, primarily to Bangladesh, Taiwan, Angola, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Mozambique.