Global Cement News

Kenya: Data from the Kenya Bureau of Statistics shows that cement production fell by 6% year-on-year to 1.46Mt in the first quarter of 2019 from 1.55Mt in the same period in 2018. Cement consumption dropped by 3% to 1.46Mt from 1.50Mt. Cement consumption previously grew by 2.8% year-on-year to 5.9Mt in 2018 from 5.8Mt in 2017. However, production fell by 2.6% to 6.07Mt from 6.23Mt. Imports increased by around 50% to 23,000t but exports decreased by 63% to 0.14Mt from 0.39Mt, mainly due to a major drop in deliveries to Uganda and Tanzania.

South Africa: PPC says it plans to shut the kiln at its Port Elizabeth cement plant ahead of stricter requirements to the country’s emission standards. It is shutting down the kiln to meet new standards for NO₂ and dust emissions on 1 April 2020, according to Reuters. Around 30 jobs are expected to be affected by the shutdown.

The cement producer’s revenue rose slightly year-on-year to US$736m in its financial year to 31 March 2019. Its profit nearly quadrupled to US$10.2m. Its cement sales volumes also rose slightly to 5.9Mt. Sales and earnings fell in South Africa due to a poor market but they grew elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, notably in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Dealers Association has suspended sales of cement in protest against ‘unjustifiable’ taxes. Asif Saeed, the president of the association, has accused the government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of levying ‘numerous’ taxes on the cement sector, according to the Business Recorder newspaper. He claimed that the association’s members will remain on strike until their demands are met.

Russia: The Akkermann cement brand has entered the Perm market. The Gornozavodskcement Plant near Perm has started producing cement products under the brand name, according to the Pro Perm website. 400, 500 and 600 strength products will be available in bags and CEM I 42.5N and CEM II / A-W 32.5B products will be available in bulk. The Akkermann brand is part of the South Ural Mining & Processing Company, which operates an integrated cement plant at Orenburg.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement has set an 80% CO₂ reduction target from cement production by 2050. It also plans to reduce its emissions from cement products by 20%. It aims to do this via a variety of means including energy-saving measures, promoting co-processing, lowering the clinker factor of its cement and CO₂ capture technology. The cement producer started a pilot of a chemical absorption method on kiln exhaust gases at its Fujiwara plant in early 2019.