Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has started shipping cement from its Aracaju terminal in Sergipe state to its Manaus terminal in Amazonas state to expand its business in the north of the country. It purchased the Manaus unit from Cemex in 2018, according to the Valor Economico newspaper. A 20,000t cement carrier will be used exclusively for the project.

Philippines: Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ruth Castelo says that the government is considering implementing a suggested retail price (SRP) on cement. However, cement companies have previously resisted sharing information with the government to help it devise a SRP, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The DTI is considering publishing a SRP for cement due to consumer concerns about prices rises following newly introduced tariffs on imports. To do so it will need cement producer costs for labour, raw materials, fuels and logistics.

Puerto Rico: Road reconstruction work, housing and other infrastructure projects are raising cement sales. Over US$0.9bn of local and federal funding is being spent on rebuilding roads and around US$1.5bn has been approved for other projects, according to the El Vocero newspaper. Cement sales rose by 13.5% year-on-year to 1.2 million bags in December 2018.

Pakistan: A slowdown in construction activity has reduced Cherat Cement’s sales. Its local cement sales volumes fell by 12% year-on-year to 0.90Mt in the half-year to 31 December 2018 from 1.03Mt in the same period in 2017. Its exports declined by 23% to 0.18Mt from 0.23Mt. The cement producer’s net turnover decreased by 7% to US$50.3m from US$54.3m. Its net profit fell by 24% to US$7.35m from US$9.65m. The cement producer noted that the price of coal had risen.

Cherat Cement said that it had commissioned a third line at its integrated plant during the reporting period. The new line has a clinker production capacity of 6700t/day and it includes a waste heat recovery unit. Following the upgrade, Cherat Cement’s plant has a production capacity of 4.5Mt/yr. The company also installed Wartsila dual fuel engines. These generators have been ordered in anticipation of the completion of new gas pipeline to the plant.