Global Cement News

Nepal: Exports of cement and clinker reached US$48bn in the 2024 financial year, tripling the figure from 2023, according to the Department of Customs. Exports of cement were US$23.5m, while clinker exports stood at US$22.5m.

This follows the government’s introduction of an 8% cash incentive for mine-based product exports and the identification of cement as a potential export item in the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2023. Policy changes, including tariff waivers on significant electricity usage by manufacturers, also contributed to this growth.

Pakistan: The All-Pakistan Cement Distributors Association (APCDA) has asked the government to take heed of their strike call issued on 13 July 2024. The association is threatening action in response to new taxes and ordinances. These include a new sales tax, an increase in the 236-H income tax from 1% to 2.5% and the introduction of point-of-sale systems. APCDA said that the measures together made it ‘extremely difficult’ for cement dealers to operate. It called for exemptions or inclusion in a different presumptive tax regime in order to prevent industry collapse.

The News International newspaper has reported that association chair Chaudhry Sajid said that the new taxes will have to be passed on as additional costs for customers. He criticised the classification of cement as a fast-moving consumer good, as not all dealers are sufficiently ‘tech-savvy’ to adopt the requisite digital systems.

Australia: Calix has been awarded a US$10m grant from the Australian government’s Carbon Capture Technologies Program to build a commercial demonstration electric calciner for ‘near zero emissions’ lime and cement production. The grant covers up to 50% of the expenditure, contingent on meeting project milestones.

The project will utilise the Leilac technology to capture up to 20,000t/yr of CO₂ from the cement and lime manufacturing processes. The project will create two revenue streams via a ‘near zero emissions’ lime product, as well as up to 15,000t/yr of captured CO₂ being sold to the SM1 project for green methanol production.

In the second phase of the project, production will be expanded to include the processing of cement raw meal to a ‘near zero emissions’ clinker product, with captured CO₂ supplied for use.

India: Dalmia Bharat reported a net profit rise to US$17.3m for the first quarter of the 2025 financial year, up from US$17.2m crore in the same period in 2024. The company’s revenue from operations remained steady at US$433m. Cement sales volumes increased by 6% year-on-year to 7.4Mt, compared to 7Mt in 2023.

Managing director and CEO, Puneet Dalmia, said "During the quarter, even though cement demand was weak across regions amidst general elections, our volumes grew 6.2% year-on-year while margins improved to 18.5% from 16.9% in 2023."

Afghanistan: The Ghori Cement plant in Baghlan province plans to increase its production from 0.18Mt in 2023 to 0.2Mt in 2024 due to a growing demand for cement. Technical deputy of the factory, Sarbaz Banuzai, also revealed plans for a new cement plant capable of producing 1.3Mt/yr, which would stand adjacent to the current facility.

Factory workers voiced support for the expansion as a means to combat unemployment and boost local production.