Cement News tagged: International
Higher power prices send cement prices up in Pakistan
Construction costs in Pakistan are expected to rise due to a hike in industrial electricity tariffs, effective from 1 July 2023. As agreed with the IMF under its US$3bn standby arrangement, the government notified an increase in electricity prices for industrial customer by PKR7.50/kWh (US$0.026) and for residential customers by an average of PKR6.45/kWh, according an AHL Research assessment ...
Cement sales in Vietnam down 22% in June
Cement sales in Vietnam declined 22 per cent YoY to 4.789Mt in June 2023, according to the Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA). Of this total, 1.420Mt was sold by VICEM, which saw its sales fall by 26 per cent. Other VNCA members sold a combined 0.991Mt, down 28 per cent YoY while non-VNCA members sold 2.378Mt, down 17 per cent YoY. Total exports in June 2023 increased by 97 per cent ...
India's CMA appoints new president
India’s Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA) has appointed Neeraj Akhoury, managing director at Shree Cement Ltd , as its new president, and Parth Jindal, managing director of JSW Cement Ltd , as its vice-president. Mr Akhoury brings with him more than 30 years of experience in the steel and cement industries, having worked in various leadership roles in India and other emerging markets. ...
Spain sees demand drop 4% in June but exports surge 24%
Spanish cement consumption in the first half of 2023 edged up by 0.3 per cent YoY to 7,539,907t, according to the country’s cement association, Oficemen. In June 2023 alone, cement demand in the Iberian country fell 4.3 per cent to 1,319,112t when compared with June 2022. “The evolution of the semester has closed with ‘zero’ growth in line with our forecasts at the beginning of the year. T...
Pakistan's cement industry’s bottom line may improve in FY23-24
AHL Research has released a positive forecast for Pakistan’s cement industry performance in FY23-24. The analyst estimates that cement demand is expected to recover in FY23-24 due to a significant decline in coal prices, energy efficiencies and higher retention prices, which should stimulate the bottom line. In addition, the IMF programme provided much-needed clarity and assurance concernin...
Carthage Cement advances 1H turnover by 24%
Tunisia-based Carthage Cement increased its turnover by 24 per cent YoY to TND208.546m (US$68.92m) in the first half of 2023, according to information on the Tunis Stock Exchange. The improvement of the company’s results is attributed to a jump in 1H cement sales with local sales increasing by 25 per cent YoY to TND158.822m and exports by 19 per cent to TND31.284m. In addition, the compa...
Brazilian cement demand up 1% in June
Brazil’s cement market expanded by 1.4 per cent YoY to 5.253Mt in June 2023 from 5.182Mt in June 2022, according to the country’s cement association, SNIC. “Brazil's economy is starting to show signs of recovery with the expectation of growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), control of inflation and improvement in labour market indicators. Even so, the Brazilian cement industry remains ca...
Sarawak signs MoU with two cement producers
Sarawak’s cement industry is set to expand with the arrival of YTL Cement Bhd and SCG International (Thailand). Innocement Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Sarawak’s Economic Development Corp and Bintulu Development Authority, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the two cement producers on 14 July 2023, reports The Star. Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, premier of Sarawak, s...
Sudden rise in Nigerian cement prices
Cement prices in Nigeria have risen suddenly, reportedly driven by high inflation that advanced to 22.4 per cent in May. In some markets, a 50kg bag of cement has increased in price from NGN4600-4700 (US$5.92-6.04) to NGN5000 in the space of a few days. According to The Guardian, the prices of building materials have increased by more than 70 per cent between 2022 and July 2023. Retailers h...
Pakistan's cement industry performance in FY22-23
In FY22-23, Pakistan’s cement industry’s local dispatches were affected by expensive construction (high steel and cement prices), declining consumer buying power and cuts in public sector spending. However, the industry saw some respite in the latter half of the year when exports picked up and the industry sustained profitability. Looking ahead, some relief in the import price of Afghan coal a...
US/Puerto Rican Portland and blended shipments drop 7% in April
Portland and blended cement shipments, including imports, in the USA and Puerto Rico declined by 6.7 per cent YoY to 8.5Mt in April 2023, reports the US Geological Survey (USGS). Of the total blended cement volume, 3.2Mt (96 per cent) was Portland limestone cement (Type IL). The largest state markets for Portland and blended cement in April 2023 were Texas, California, Florida, Georgia and Ari...
Sinoma to build cement plant in Iraq
Sama Samawa Industries Commissioner revealed an agreement with Sinoma to establish a cement factory in Muthanna Governorate, southern Iraq. While stating that the production will reach 7000tpa, the director of the Chinese company affirmed that the factory will be operational by 2025. Taha Mashat, commissioner of Sama Samawa Industries, stated: "The project aims to produce various types of c...
Colombian cement consumption up 2% in May
Colombia’s cement market expanded by 2.1 per cent YoY to 1.126Mt in May 2023 from 1.104Mt in May 2022, according to DANE, the country’s statistics office. Sales to ready-mix concrete companies were up 5.8 per cent YoY while retail sales increased by 5.3 per cent YoY in May 2023. However, off-take by construction companies and contractors declined by 12.6 per cent in May 2023 when compared wi...
Chile’s cement demand contracts 4% in May 2023
Chilean cement dispatches declined 3.5 per cent YoY to 318,599t in May 2023 from 330,114t in May 2022, according to the national construction chamber, CChC. However, when compared with April 2023, cement demand increased by 6.2 per cent. In the first five months of 2023, dispatches decreased by 7.8 per cent to 1,544,518t from 1,675,216t in the 5M22.
Argentina's cement market expands 1% in 1H23
Cement dispatches in Argentina declined by 2.1 per cent YoY to 1,080,422t in June 2023 from 1,104,066t in June 2022, according to the country’s cement association, AFCP. When compared with the previous month, dispatches edged up by 0.8 per cent from 1,071,951t in May 2023. The market was entirely supplied by domestic production – no imports were reported. Total production from Argentina’s cem...
Swiss cement deliveries fall 8% in 2Q23
Cement deliveries in Switzerland declined 8.2 per cent YoY to 1,049,481t in the second quarter of 2023 from 1,143,153t in the 2Q22, according to cemsuisse, the national cement association. In the first half of the year, cement deliveries decreased by nine per cent YoY to 1,904,624t from 2,093,709t in the 1H22. Of this total, 1,843,798t, or 96.8 per cent of total deliveries, of cement was sup...