Over the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (beginning 20 March 2012), Iran exported over 9.38Mt of cement and clinker, representing an increase of 30 per cent compared to the same period of last year, the IRNA News Agency reported.

In terms of the breakdown of export volumes, some 8.246Mt of cement and 1.136Mt of clinker were exported, with the main markets being Iraq, Central Asia, UAE and Afghanistan.

Iran’s cement production capacity currently stands at 86Mt, the country’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week. He noted that, in terms of cement production, the country had come a long way over the last six years when it was reliant on imports to meet domestic demand.