Cement News tagged: International
The cement sector is looking forward higher allocation of PSDP in FY23-24
The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) of Pakistan's government has recommended PKR2.659trn (US$9.27bn) of national development outlay for the next budget 2023-24, including a federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of PKR1.1trn and a provincial allocation of PKR1.559trn. Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal told journalists that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Mi...
Sri Lanka's cement prices to fall
Sri Lanka’s cement prices are expected to fall by LKR300-500/50kg bag (US$1.03-1.72/50kg bag) of cement, following a recent appreciation of the rupee. A 50kg bag was retailing at round LKR2600. “The reduction in prices is due to the strengthening of our currency, the falling interest rates and the current economic standards that we have put in place,” said Trade Minister, Nalin Fernando, accor...
New cement price rises expected in South Korea
South Korea’s cement industry is likely to increase cement prices by 14 per cent from July, citing the impact of sharply rising electricity prices and currency exchange rate as the main drivers. Ssangyong C&E Co , one of South Korea’s key cement producers, recently sent a letter to concrete suppliers stating its intention to increase bulk prices by 14.1 per cent to KRW119,600/t (US$90.36/t ...
ALCCC calls on Europe to adopt performance-based standards
The Alliance for Low Carbon Cement and Concrete (ALCCC) has published a new report, ‘Fast Tracking Cement Decarbonisation’, calling for a shift to performance-based cement and concrete standards to accelerate the decarbonisation of the European cement industry. According to the report, clinker substitution is generally seen as the most promising lever for decarbonisation, enabling considerable...
Kolos Cement posts MUR48.5m loss
Mauritius-based Kolos Cement reported losses of MUR48.5m (US$1.06m) in the January-March 2023 quarter. The company’s turnover increased 9.4 per cent to MUR522m when compared with MUR477m in the January-March 2022 quarter. Inflation, exchange rate volatility, and rising raw material and fuel costs impacted on the company’s profit margins. For example, fuel costs were up by 264 per cent YoY an...
Spain’s cement market contracts 12% in April
Cement consumption in Spain dropped 11.6 per cent YoY to 1,182,325t in April 2023, according to the Spanish cement association, Oficemen. The YoY drop needs to be considered against “an untypical high result – the highest in the last decade”, said the organisation. "The reason was the rebound effect that occurred in the construction sector, once the transport strike ended," explains Oficemen...
Vietnam cement sales down 14% in April 2023
Cement sales in Vietnam saw a 14 per cent YoY decline to 5,621,586t in April 2023, according to the Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA). Of this total, VICEM sales fell by 14 per cent to 1,834,092t while other VNCA members reported a 28 per cent drop in aggregate sales to 1,077,494t. Non-members saw an eight per cent YoY decrease in sales to 2,710,000t in April 2023. Exports were down...
Low cement production in 1HFY22-23 attributed to construction downtrend
Last week, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released its half year report for the FY22-23 on the state of Pakistan’s economy. The analysis in the report covered all sectors, including cement, was prepared on data for the July-December 2022 period. Cement industry output The output in the cement sector contracted by 15.1 per cent during the 1HFY22-23, compared to a 0.9 per cent declin...
Peru's cement market contracts 17% YoY in April
Cement dispatches in Peru fell by 17 per cent YoY to 0.883Mt in April 2023, according to the Peruvian cement association, Asocem. Of this total, 0.851Mt was delivered by Asocem members. Cement production declined 11 per cent YoY to 0.913Mt in April 2023. Clinker production fell 19 per cent YoY to 0.631Mt in April 2023. Cement exports decreased by six per cent YoY to 0.014Mt while clinker e...
WhiteLabel-TandemProjects enters JV with MMe
WhiteLabel-TandemProjects (WLTP) has entered into a joint venture with German engineering-firm MMe GmbH to sell MMe’s sampling device for solid alternative fuels. MMe produces the only automatic sampling device for solid alternative fuels that is tested by the Federal Quality Association for Secondary Fuels (Bundesgütegemeinschaft Sekundärbrennstoffe e.V.) and is working according to the ...
Cement production growth fuels record-high emissions in China
A 4.1 per cent YoY increase in China’s cement production in the first quarter of 2023 has contributed to a four per cent rise in the country’s CO 2 emissions, marking a record high for the first quarter of a year. According to Carbon Brief, the uptick was driven by a economic rebound following the end of China’s zero-COVID-19 policy, which led to oil consumption advancing by 5.5 per cent,...
Sri Lankan government urged to reduce bagged cement prices
Sri Lankan cement customers are urging the government to make cement bag prices reasonable, given the appreciation of the local currency after the economic crisis in the country. Presently 50kg bag prices are hovering between LKR2500-2650 (US$8.14-8.63), according to company websites. The National Construction Association of Sri Lanka (NCASL) expressed concern over reducing a bag of cement by...
Cement sales in Chile fall 10% in March
Chile’s cement market contracted by 10.3 per cent YoY to 328,003t in March 2023 from 365,8926t in March 2022, according to the country’s construction chamber, CChC. In the January-March 2023 period sales were down 10.3 per cent to 926,061t from 1,032,001t in the first quarter of 2022.
Brazilian market sees 11% contraction in April
Cement sales in Brazil declined 11.4 per cent YoY to 4.577Mt in April 2023 from 5.164Mt, according to the Brazilian cement association, SNIC. The association attributed the market contraction to rising unemployment, a slow recovery of wages and high interest rates (currently at 13.75 per cent), which all led to a drop in building material sales and a fall in real estate launches and financing....
Iranian cement market expands 3% in March
Cement sales in Iran reached 5.87Mt in March 2023, up 2.6 per cent when compared with March 2022, when 5.71Mt were sold, according to the Iranian Cement Association. There were no reports of imports and domestic cement production stood at 6.28Mt in March 2023, representing a 10.8 per cent YoY advance. Clinker production decreased by 2.8 per cent YoY from 6.33Mt to 6.15Mt in March 2023. In t...
MPA welcomes EU law reforms
The Mineral Products Association (MPA), which represents producers of essential mineral products such as aggregates, concrete and asphalt, has welcomed the UK government’s decision to change direction on regulatory reform, altering its plans to automatically ditch EU laws by the year-end. In its current form the Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill would have caused fresh uncertainty for British busine...