Egypt cement imports to hit 1Mt by end Aug
Egypt imported 512,000t of cement from January to August 5 and the figure is expected to almost double to 1Mt by the end of August, the Trade Ministry said on Tuesday.
Rising local demand for cement had prompted the ministry to extend a ban on cement exports first introduced in April until October 2010.
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Housing demand in Egypt remains buoyant even as hundreds of billions of dollars worth of construction projects have been put on hold elsewhere in the Middle East since the financial crisis curbed property investment.
Cement producers had said in July they were ready to import around 1 million tonnes in the next two months to help meet growing demand.
Suez Cement, one of Egypt’s largest cement makers, has also postponed planned maintenance work in order to continue producing at full capacity, the Trade Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry had warned cement producers last week not to carry out any work that would cut production in the coming period.
Source: Reuters
Published under Cement News
