Vietnam: Vicem recorded 9.72Mt of cement production in the first four months of 2021, up by 12% year-on-year from 8.67Mt in the first four months of 2021. The Viet Nam News newspaper has reported that the company is targeting 22.0Mt of cement in 2021, corresponding to a 1% rise year-on-year. Chair Bui Hong Minh said that the growth signals the success of Vicem’s coronavirus pandemic prevention measures at meeting their aim of maintained operational stability.

UK: Hanson, part of Germany-based HeidelbergCement, has reduced its bagged cement allocations to customers. The Construction Index has reported that the decision is due to a national shortage of cement in the UK. The building materials producer introduced a packed cement allocation in May 2021. It calculated these by the proportion of orders that it believed could fulfil. Packed products director Andrew Simpson said, “Regrettably, we have been unable to maintain those levels.” He added that the company had had to perform unforeseen work on its cement operations following its 2021 shutdown.

Supply issues for packaging materials have also been reported. Bag suppliers informed Hanson to expect longer-term packaging shortages due to global demand for polymer and kraft paper, according to Simpson. He added that low pallet availability was also a concern.

Greece: Heracles Cement recorded sales of Euro189m in 2020, consistent with 2019 levels. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 36% year-on-year to Euro35.5m from Euro26.1m. Lower cement prices domestically partly offset an increase in cement volumes, resulting in domestic cement sales growth of 7%. Cement exports fell by 16%. Positive currency exchange effects against the US dollar constrained the export drop.

The subsidiary of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim said that it is firmly pursuing its strategy with new investments aimed at the on-going improvement of its environmental footprint and transition to innovative and sustainable building solutions, always respecting people, society and the environment.

India: The cement sector’s consumption of fly ash has reportedly collapsed since March 2020. The Financial Express newspaper has reported that the sector previously used over 25% of the ash from coal-fired power plants. The Association of Power Producers says that the suspension of cement production during coronavirus lockdown prevented the more of the country’s coal plants than usual from reaching the required 100% utilisation (for plants over three years old) in the 2021 financial year. In the 2020 financial year, 47 of 101 plants utilised 100% of their fly ash. Other uses beside cement production include brick and tile production, roadbuilding and land reclamation.