Cement News tagged: Trading
Brunei streamlines cement imports
The process of registering to import cement into Brunei Darussalam will take three working days, according to the country’s Energy and Industry Department. The office recently announced the abolition of the existing policy of cement import quota, effective 1 January 2017. New registrations need to be private limited companies (sendirian berhad) and registered under the construction sect...
Lafarge Algeria to export clinker from 2018
Lafarge Algeria is preparing to export grey clinker from its local plants from 2018. The group already exports white cement from its Oggaz plants in the Mascara wilaya. "It is part of government policy to promote exports. There will be cement overcapacity in late 2017 compared to all the projects that are launched. We are preparing with other (cement manufacturers) to be able to export clin...
Indonesia: Semen Padang starts exports to Australia
Semen Padang, a subsidiary of PT Semen Indonesia, has started exporting cement to Australia as the company looks to broaden its customer base beyond the highly-competitive Indonesian market. In a first shipment the company delivered 22t of cement to Sydney. "The realised export to Australia, known as a difficult market to penetrate because of its strict [import] requirements, proves that th...
Kenya: East African Portland Cement reports 1H16-17 pretax loss
In the first half of the FY16-17 ended December 2016 East African Portland Cement Co (EAPCC) has reported a pretax loss of KES533.7m (US$5.2m), an improvement when compared with the loss of KES745m reported a year ago. Revenues in the first half fell from KES4.62bn to KES3.72bn. EAPCC operates a 1.14Mt cement plant at Athi River and also owns downstream concrete activities. It is Kenya's ...
DR Congo: producers demand six-month import suspension
Cement producers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have urged the country’s Prime Minister, Samy Badibanga, to be tough on cement imports, demanding a suspension of cement imports for a six-month period, strengthening anti-fraud measures and continued logistics support to improve cement distribution. With the commissioning of PPC Barnet and Cimko plants supply to the west of the country i...
Nepal: six-fold increase in clinker imports
Nepal has been heading towards self-sufficiency in cement, but at the same time, imports of clinker have soared, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC). The country imported clinker worth NPR8.97bn (US$83.7m) in the first six months of the current fiscal year, reports the TEPC. The figure is an almost six-fold jump from NPR1.52bn in the first half of the previous fiscal ye...
Algeria sees sharp drop in cement imports in 2016
Algerian cement imports fell 35.5 per cent in 2016 from a value of US$474.3m to US$306.1m. In volume terms, a 27.4 per cent decrease was reported to 4.8Mt. In 2015 Algeria imported 6.6Mt of cement. Imports of other building materials such as iron and steel have also seen decreases.
New Zealand: cruise ship collides with cement carrier
A cruise ship broke free from its moorings in high winds at Timaru, New Zealand, yesterday, hitting the cement carrier Milburn Carrier II. According to local media, the cement carrier’s hull and Seabourn Encore’s stern were damaged. No one was injured in the incident. New Zealand authorities have started an inquiry into the incident.
Cameroon: smuggled Dangote cement creates price drop
Dangote cement currently sells between XAF-2800-3500 (US$4.55-5.68) per 50kg bag in northern Cameroon, significantly lower than the XAF4500-4600 applicable in the south of the country, local sources revealed. The price erosion results from smuggling activity suffered by Dangote in the northern part of the country. Important cargoes of Dangote cement sold in this area of Cameroon come direc...
Pakistan: exports to Afghanistan decline
APCMA data revealed that domestic dispatches in January 2017 were 2.722Mt, while exports amounted to 0.376Mt, reflecting YoY growth of 0.78 and -2.71 per cent, respectively. Total cement dispatches in January 2017 amounted to 3.087Mt. According to data released by the APCMA, during the first seven months of current fiscal year, the cement industry posted a growth of 9.52 per cent in lo...
Vietnam notes fall in exports in 2016
Vietnam exported 14.73Mt of cement in 2016, down 7.1 per cent YoY, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. Export revenues fell 16 per cent YoY to US$561m. In December the country exported 1.31Mt of cement and clinker to the value of US$50.58m, increasing 7.7 per cent and 10.4 per cent MoM in volume and value, respectively. Key destinations of cement and clinker exports w...
Pakistan: first dry bulk terminal to open in March
Pakistan’s first dry bulk terminal will open next month and is expected to handle 3Mta of coal imports, rising to 20Mt over the next five years, the port’s chief executive said on Thursday. The US$285m Muhammad Bin Qasim Port, which was built with support from the World Bank, will also be used to export cement and clinker, Sharique Siddiqui, chief executive for Pakistan International Bulk T...
Pakistan: APCMA calls for higher duty on Iranian cement imports
All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) is urging the government to put a 20 per cent import duty on Iranian cement, claiming that Iranian producers are "dumping" the building material in border markets. "The local market in areas adjacent to the Iranian border and the coastal area of Balochistan are flooded with Iranian cement. Domestically produced cement is losing its market...
Coal price rises will impact cement costs
Although there has been a big move away from fossil fuels in many parts of the world, the cement sector still relies on coal as cheap fuel to fire a good number of its cement kilns. Yet, in the last six months the price of coal on world markets has doubled, placing pressure on cement producers to increase prices to protect margins. HeidelbergCement has estimated a seven per cent rise in it...
USA: Portland and blended cement shipments fall in October 2016
US Geological Survey (USGS) reports that the shipments of Portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico in October 2016 were about 9Mt, down by 3.4 per cent from sales in October 2015. The leading producing states in October 2016 were Texas, Missouri, California, Florida, and Michigan, in descending order, and these accounted for about 41 per cent of the national total. ...
Pakistan exports of cement show dismal figure in 6MFY2016-17
Pakistan cement exporters have earned revenues of US$16.36m on exports of 309,868t cement in December 2016, compared to US$23.68m on 455,720t of exports in the previous month. These figures represent a MoM decline in dollar value and volumes of 32 and 30 per cent, respectively. However, when compared with December 2015 (434,967t with a value of US$22.89m), volumes decreased by 28.76 per...