Iraq ban challenges Iran cement industry

The Iraqi government has passed a bill banning the imports of Iranian cement to protect its domestic cement industry.

Mohammad-Reza Lotfi, the deputy head of the Association of Cement Industry Entrepreneurs, said that Iran's cement exports to Iraq amounted to some 7Mt or around 60 per cent of Iranian exports last year. Mr Lotfi said that the only solution is to look for new markets, such as Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.