Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW774 / 26 August 2026

Headlines


This week a Nigeria-based government regulator has concluded that there may be some anti-competitive behaviour occurring in the local cement sector. One of the other countries it compared Nigeria to was Tanzania. However, Tanzania has been having its own problems with cement supply recently. Let’s explore what’s been happening.

Arguments over the price of cement in Nigeria are a regular occurrence that this column has covered multiple times over the last decade and beforehand. Our last one, in February 2026, covered a think-tank that blamed the situation on structural issues with the market. The latest allegations come from the Anticompetitive Practices Department (ACP) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). In a preliminary report its findings “...suggest possible manipulation of prices of cement in the Nigerian market.” The ACP started the investigation due to the apparent high price of cement locally, compared to other countries, despite plenty of limestone sources and surplus production capacity. All the major cement producers in the country cooperated with the ACP apart from one. The department then goes on to note that three large companies account for 90% of cement production in the country.

The ACP actually compared prices in different countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to Nigeria. For example, it says that the retail price of cement is US$5.40/bag (50kg) in Nairobi, Kenya or US$4.80/bag in Tanzania. The commission notes that the price of cement rose significantly in the first half of 2026. Its exemplar prices suggest that cement in Nigeria sold for US$7.20/bag in January 2026, US$9.65/bag by the middle of the year and as high as US$11.13/bag by July 2026. The FCCPC press release doesn’t do the calculations but the figures it provides suggest that Kenya has a cement production capacity of 160kg/capita but Nigeria has one of at least 252kg/capita. Nigeria apparently produces more cement per person than Kenya but it may cost twice as much! The FCCPC has asked the large producers to explain their pricing methods, production capacity utilisation and export data and “relevant commercial relationships.”

Local press coverage in Nigeria over the last week included the assessment of cement expert Kevin Tar, who concluded that cement shouldn’t cost more than US$6.00/bag including production and logistics costs. His figures even included 20 - 25% profit for the manufacturers. For comparison, the net profits of two of the main cement producers in Nigeria - BUA Cement and HBM Nigeria - each increased by at least 50% year-on-year in the first half of 2026. Dangote Cement in its half-year results noted that inflation had been an issue due to rising fuel prices connected to the US - Iran war.

Unfortunately, one of the countries the FCCPC used to try and show that cement prices might be unduly high in Nigeria was Tanzania, which has been having troubles of its own in recent months. The government has given cement producers eight days to cut prices and improve supply after prices reportedly nearly hit US$10/bag in some places. Producers have blamed the situation on mechanical failures at some of the main integrated plants. The cement companies will be back before the Ministry of Industry and Trade on 28 August 2026 for a progress report on the situation.

A number of cement producers raised their prices in July 2026 blaming rising input and production costs, and tax changes amongst other reasons. One tax rise was an increase in specific excise duty rates for the 2026 - 27 tax year that started in July 2026. The government told local press at the time that the country has 15 cement plants with a production capacity of 13.6Mt/yr. These plants had produced 10.3Mt in the last year against a demand of 8.5Mt/yr. The remainder was exported to Malawi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and other countries. Global Cement Magazine published an overview of the cement market in Tanzania in its January 2025 issue by authors Holtec Consulting. At the time they noted the country’s relatively low cement consumption per capita and high potential for growth in the sector as the economy developed. Hopefully the current debacle is merely a hiccup on that path.

Nigeria and Tanzania possess cement sectors at different stages of development. Yet both are encountering price spikes at the moment. Nigeria’s industry is more concentrated and much larger. It may be suffering from its perennial structural problems and inflation-based issues. Tanzania’s sector is more diverse. In its case import tariffs on clinker from East African Community countries may be making the market less nimble in the face of a local clicker supply bottleneck. In addition, inflation on fuel prices and the new tax system could be playing their part too. Exports may also be an issue as, anecdotally, they appear to have risen in 2025 and so-far in 2026.

Whether an eventual FCCPC investigation finds anything in Nigeria remains to be seen. Yet, mounting cement prices in another country in Sub-Saharan start to flesh out an argument for a wider trend going in the region.


US: Amrize has appointed Sam Poletti as its Chief Financial Officer. He succeeds Baris Oran in the role, who is resigning for personal reasons.

Poletti has been a member of Amrize’s Executive Committee as its Chief Strategy and M&A Officer since the company’s formation in 2025. Before this, he worked for Holcim Group companies from 2007 starting as Senior Consultant, Management Consulting. In 2012 he took the role of Head of Strategy Development, Investments and Financial Planning at Ambuja Cements in Group Head of M&A in 2018. He has also worked for Leica. Poletti holds qualifications including a master’s degree in law and economics from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.


Thailand: Siam City Cement has appointed Federico Vasello as its Group Chief Financial Officer from 1 November 2026. He succeeds Ranjan Sachdeva in the post.


India: IKN Engineering India has appointed Sridhar Shanmugha Sundaram as its CEO.

Shanmugha Sundaram previously worked as the Senior Vice President, Head of Sales & Marketing at Gebr. Pfieffer in India from 2024 to mid-2026. Before this, he held various roles at FLSmidth in India starting as Head of Product Sales in 2012 and eventually becoming     Vice President, Head of Global Product Line - Grinding and Gears in 2023. Shanmugha Sundaram is a graduate in engineering from the College of Engineering Guindy, Chennai, and holds an executive masters of business administration qualification from the Copenhagen Business School.


Chile: Cemento Polpaico, part of Polpaico Soluciones, and utility company Colbún have commissioned a 9.9MW photovoltaic facility in the Santiago region, which the producer has said is the largest private photovoltaic self-generation park in Chile. The facility is located on 12 hectares of the Cerro Blanco mining and industrial complex and features 15,000 photovoltaic modules. The project is designed to produce approximately 21.5GW/yr and will account for 15% of the electricity consumed by the Cerro Blanco plant. The cement plant will now operate with 100% renewable energy, provided by Colbún from other facilities.


US: Silvi Cement, a division of Silvi Materials, is expanding its rail-served cementitious materials distribution network with a new terminal in Greenville, South Carolina, and the opening of its previously announced terminal in Colombus, Ohio. The Greenville terminal is currently under construction and is expected to become operational in October 2026. The facility will distribute Type I/II low-alkali cement and Grade 120 slag. Construction is also progressing on the distribution facility in Columbus, previously announced in October 2025. This facility will be operational in the fourth quarter of 2026 and will also distribute Type I/II low-alkali cement and Grade 120 slag, but with 24/7 loading capabilities.


Nigeria: Dangote Cement is reportedly ‘struggling’ to secure vessels for a 1000t shipment from Nigeria to neighbouring Ghana. The move comes as Nigeria attempts to rebuild domestic shipping capacity after decades of dependence on foreign vessels. The alternative, moving products by road, comes with high costs, such as fuel costs, border delays and taxes.


Colombia: Holcim Colombia has announced that it will deliver 7t of cement, financial contributions from its employees and technical assistance for home recovery to support communities affected by the earthquake on 10 August 2026 in the department of Chocó. The initiative will be carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and will prioritise the stabilisation of basic infrastructure and urgent repairs in the most vulnerable areas. Holcim said that the ‘first’ 7t will be specifically directed towards priority interventions in infrastructure. Employees in Latin America will contribute a day’s salary, and the company will match this contribution, which will be channelled through the ‘Colombia, One Heart’ foundation and UNICEF.


France: Workers at the Ciments Calcia plant in Couvrot are preparing to go on strike, according to L’Hebdo du Vendredi news. The reason has been stated as: ‘staff reductions, with the number of employees dropping from 142 to 132; unfilled voluntary departures; and increasingly difficult working conditions.’

In September 2023, a large number of employees mobilised to block entry to the plant and denounced ‘unsuitable’ working conditions and a ‘toxic’ work environment. The strike lasted 54 days and received the support of local politicians. However, Fabrice Chamarac, secretary of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) and the CGT union branch, said that operations were resumed without an official agreement to end the conflict, ‘relying solely on verbal commitments from management.’

Now, Chamarac says “We see employees completely terrified and people breaking down, including managers. In one year, they've summoned about 10 people. Sanctions, suspensions, warnings and threats are commonplace. Some even received their dismissal letters while they were on vacation. We've taken several cases to the labour court with our lawyer."

The CGT union has organised a general staff meeting for 3 September 2026, together with managers and the head of human resources. Chamarac said that unless the situation ‘calms down’, the meeting will likely result in a strike notice that will begin the next day.


Afghanistan/Iran: A meeting between Afghan and Iranian trade delegations has finalised a contract to buy 50,000t of cement worth US$2.5m. The Taliban administration did not release further details about the timing of when the agreements would take effect. The meeting reportedly focused on expanding trade and transit, with both parties agreeing on increased movement of cargo trucks, easier conditions for traders and the removal of obstacles at the border.


Germany: In 2025, Loesche was commissioned by Zement- und Kalkwerke Otterbein to deliver, install and commission a grinding plant, including vertical roller mill, in Großenlüder-Müs. The new grinding plant forms part of the company’s investment package NovaCEM 2027. Loesche said that the system ensures that various materials can be ground separately and without the need for mechanical changes to the mill when changing products. It is currently intended for cement raw meal, limestone and ground granulated blast furnace slag. The vertical roller mill supplied has a capacity of up to 115t/hr and is fitted with an LSKS-type classifier and Pronamic grinding parts.


India: N Bhanumathidas and N Kalidas are co-founders of the Institute for Solid Waste Research and Ecological Balance (INSWAREB), which aims to replace fossils fuels in cement production with thermal plasma powered by nuclear energy. The researchers propose utilising thermal plasma torches to produce clinker without burning fossil fuels. The proposal pairs the plasma with small modular reactors. The researchers said via The Hindu that a conventional rotary kiln consumes over 0.25t of coal per tonne of clinker, while a plasma route requires 0.72t of coal equivalent to meet a 1.2MW demand. However, the nuclear power route requires 36g of radioactive material for 1.2MW. 20,000kg of coal is reportedly matched by 1kg of radioactive material.

Kalidas said “Internationally, pilot-scale initiatives are already gaining momentum: Heidelberg Materials in Sweden successfully operated a continuous plasma kiln pilot using carbon dioxide, and the University of Florida installed high-temperature plasma arc reactors to produce clinker at pilot scale.”


Mexico: USG Corporation subsidiary USG LATAM is celebrating the 25th anniversary of operations at its El Carmen plant in Nuevo León, which began in 2001. The plant was USG Corporation’s first to produce its DuRock brand cement boards outside of the US, in 2005. It since expanded its product range to also include Structo-Crete, a cement board used in production of its Structo-Steel residential construction system. USG has five manufacturing plants in Puebla, Monterrey, Colima, Coahuila and Honduras, which manufacture and export its products to more than 35 countries.


Germany: On 21 August 2026, the new membrane test facility at Holcim’s cement plant in Höver was officially commissioned by government officials and Stephan Hinrichs, CEO of Holcim Germany.  The technology was developed at the Helmholtz Centre Hereon and brought to market by Cool Planet Technologies. It is designed to capture up to 90% of the CO₂ emissions from the plant.

The Hereon membranes consist of several layers of polymer and allow CO₂ to pass through more quickly than other flue gas components such as nitrogen and oxygen. In Höver, the exhaust gas stream from the cement plant is passed through the test facility over the membranes. The CO₂ is separated and discharged, while the remaining, low-emission exhaust gas stream is returned to the cement plant. This expansion phase is expected to capture up to 10,000t/yr of emissions in Höver. The CO₂ is processed and can be used as a raw material. The membrane process is chemical-free and can be operated entirely with renewable electricity.

The project has received funding from the Federal Funding Program for Industry and Climate Protection, through which the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy supports the decarbonisation of heavy industries, including the development and application of carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies (CCUS) for capturing, storing and utilising CO₂.

“Höver will be one of the first industrial sites in Germany where CO₂ is captured in a real and large-scale manner,” said Holcim CEO Stephan Hinrichs. “We are relying on cutting-edge European technology and leveraging the engineering expertise of our technology partners. Together, we are demonstrating in Lower Saxony that climate protection and strengthening industry can go hand in hand.”



Gabon: CIMAF Gabon plans to invest US$222m in two projects to increase local production capacity and support the implementation of major infrastructure projects in the country, according to the Gabonese Press Agency. The first investment, estimated at US$177m, is for the construction of an integrated plant in Ntoum. The second project, valued at US$44m, involves the commissioning of a third line at CIMAF’s plant in Owendo. This will provide an additional capacity of 1Mt/yr, bringing the site's total capacity to 1.85Mt/yr. These investments will reportedly help to reduce Gabon's dependence on cement imports, limit foreign exchange outflows, and secure supply for the domestic market.


Eswatini: The Eswatini Competition Commission (ESCC) has conditionally approved the acquisition of 100% of AfriSam eSwatini by Singapore-based West International New Building Materials (WINBM). The competition watchdog imposed safeguards to prevent the transaction from weakening competition in the country’s cement market. The transaction was notified to the commission on 17 December 2025, and was determined by the technical committee of the Board of Commissioners on 8 July 2026.

WINBM is an investment company incorporated in Singapore and has no physical presence in Eswatini. However, its group imports cement into the country from Mozambique Dugongo Cimentos, a subsidiary through which it participates in the local cement market. AfriSam, meanwhile, is incorporated in South Africa and indirectly wholly owns AfriSam eSwatini. The local subsidiary operates a cement blending facility in Matsapha and sources bulk cement and other input materials from AfriSam in South Africa.


Pakistan: Cherat Cement has reported profits of US$25.9m in the 2026 financial year, reflecting a 16% year-on-year decline. Net revenue for the quarter to 30 June 2026 declined by 9% year-on-year to US$32.9m, though it increased by 13% quarter-on-quarter, driven by higher domestic despatches.


Libya: State-owned company Ahlia Cement has reportedly been forced to close its plants in Zliten and Khoms, according to the Libya Herald. The newspaper reported that there had been conflicting reports regarding the reason for the closure, including that the military had closed the headquarters of National Cement, along with its Al-Marqab and Aribya Zliten cement plants, dismissing employees and preventing them from entering the premises. This action had reportedly come after the company’s CEO had refused to stop reserving and dispensing quantities of cement for private companies, arousing suspicions of corruption related to cement distribution operations. The alleged reserved shipments amounted to 60 truckloads per day.

Another report suggested that an armed group from Misrata stormed the company’s headquarters, in order to seize all cement orders and sell them on the market at fives times the ex-factory price.  


India: Humboldt Wedag has overseen the pouring of 109,000m³ of reinforced concrete at the Goldcrest greenfield integrated cement plant over the past 14 months, with major civil work on process buildings and clinker production due to complete by 15 September 2026, with 3000m³ remaining. Mechanical erection is due to be completed by November 2026 and cement grinding is scheduled for February 2027, according to a LinkedIn post by Ashok Dembla from Humboldt Wedag. Global Cement previously reported in May 2025 that the plant will have a cement capacity of 4.5Mt/yr and a clinker capacity of 3.5Mt/yr. Humboldt Wedag India was appointed engineering, procurement and construction contractor and targets completion by March 2027.


France: Minerals producer Omya has partnered with Lafarge France (part of Holcim) to support the development of low-carbon cement and concrete solutions. The collaboration is effective from 1 October 2026 and brings together technical expertise and local production capabilities to lower environmental impact. Omya reported on 9 April 2026 that it was in preliminary discussions regarding a partnership with the company and had initiated a consultation process.


US: Mafix, a startup that turns abundant minerals into carbon-negative silicon-based fertilisers and other mineral products, announced that it has raised US5.4m in pre-seed funding. The company said that due to a decrease in global demand for clinker, roughly 30% of global cement kiln capacity is sitting idle. By partnering with cement producers to utilise spare capacity on kilns, Mafix’s process reportedly eliminates the need for new facilities to produce the fertilisers and provides access to existing logistical hubs for efficient delivery.

"Mafix's silicon fertiliser is designed to improve soil health and agricultural productivity while delivering a scalable solution for permanent CO₂ removal, addressing two critical global challenges with a single technology,” said Jillian Chase at Azolla Ventures, which led the funding round. “Its use of existing cement infrastructure for manufacturing means it can scale quickly to address farmers’ immediate needs while the Mafix team develop additional products via their mineral transformation technology.”


El Salvador: Cement imports in El Salvador have reached their highest level in three decades during the first half of 2026, according to local press, which cited the latest data from the Central Reserve Bank. The volume of purchases during this period reached 389,330t, an increase of 35% year-on-year, the largest volume recorded since 1994. China emerged as the leading supplier, representing 26% of the total, followed by Vietnam, Honduras and Guatemala.


New Zealand: Fletcher Building Materials has published a net profit of US$135m for the financial year ending in June 2026. This is up by 154% from a net loss of -US$249m in the previous period from June 2024 to June 2025. After last year’s loss, it announced a reset aimed at cutting costs, simplifying its business and reducing debt. It sold its construction division and used the proceeds of the sale to ‘strengthen’ its balance sheet. CEO Andrew Reding said the company was ‘significantly more resilient’ than it was 12 months ago.

In July 2026, the company received US$35m from the government to support its operations amid overseas competition that did not face the same CO₂ emissions charges. Reding said that, without the support, the plant would have likely had to close and move to an import-only model from 2030. Golden Bay Cement is New Zealand’s only domestic cement plant, meaning that its closing would expose the country to global supply disruptions and potential high costs from imports.  


Mexico: During Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum’s press conference on 19 August 2026, La Cruz Azul announced an investment of US$383m to ‘reactivate’ its cement plant in Hildalgo. The project is expected to restore production capacity to 3Mt/yr. The investment includes US$106m for renovation and reconditioning works, which are reportedly already underway, and US$217m for a new production line that has reached 85% completion, according to chair of the company’s board Victor Manuel Velázquez.


Tanzania: The government has given cement producers eight days to reduce prices and improve the supply of cement following weeks of shortages. The directive was issued on 19 August 2026 after the Ministry of Industry and Trade summoned cement producers to an urgent meeting to address the issue. The shortages have been attributed to reduced production at cement plants due to maintenance issues, increased demand and higher costs across the distribution chain.


Ireland: Türkiye-based Çimsa said that it is set to deliver Ireland’s largest rooftop solar installation at its plant in Mannok. The company has already begun construction of the 6MW project, delivered in partnership with Activ8 Solar Energies and SSE Airtricity, which will cover approximately 38,800m2 and will comprise 10,000 solar panels. The project will increase the company’s total installed solar capacity across all of its operations to more than 30MW and avoid an estimated 792t of CO2 annually.


Senegal: Cement production in March 2026 registered a decline of 0.5% compared to February 2026, amid a decrease in sales on the domestic market, according to The National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD). However, this figure represents an increase of 15% year-on-year. Cement sales decreased by 5% month-on-month in March 2026, while exports increased by 43% during the same period. Year-on-year, sales grew by 4% in March 2026 and exports increased by 110%.