Cement News tagged: International
Ukrcement calls for European production standards
The introduction of European standards for cement production in Ukraine would help to restrict opportunities for producing and distributing counterfeit products in the market, according to Roman Skilsky, CEO of Ukrcement, the country’s cement association. "We declare that from 1 January 2017 we, as the sector, could switch to production and testing of cement under new standards. We believe ...
Indonesia: President meets with Semen Indonesia protestors
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has met with community representatives who are resisting plans to build a cement factory and quarry at Mount Kendeng in Central Java, the Jakarta Post reports. According to the newspaper, the new PT Semen Indonesia plant is 95 per cent complete. Locals have raised objections on the grounds that the plant will disturb the community and that the mining operati...
Germany: construction machinery manufacturers await upsurge
German construction equipment manufacturers remain optimistic but cautious at the middle of the year, claims VDMA Construction Equipment and Building Material Machinery Industry Association (VDMA) “Apart from individual orders in April, the sector is still waiting for a demand push. We cannot talk of an upswing here,” Johann Sailer, chairman of the VDMA. “We are again in the midst of our da...
Tanzania: Tanga to inaugurate second clinker line
Tanga Cement plans to commission its second clinker line this month, more than doubling output to 1.25Mta. The Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Charles Mwijage, expects to inaugurate Tanga’s project on 16 August. The company, which trades as Simba Cement, invested US$152m into the expansion. The new clinker line will have a capacity of 775,000tpa, which added to the existing 500...
Semen Indonesia exports to East Timor
PT Semen Indonesia has said that it exports 15,000t of cement to Dili, East Timor, every month. Through subsidiary Semen Tonasa, the company has exported to Dili every month since 2000, according to senior manager at the company, Sigit Wahano. Mr Wahano said Semen Indonesia, with a production capacity of 31.8Mta, exports 10 per cent of its production volume every year.
Malaysia: cement production down 4.2% in six months to June
Demand for cement in Malaysia looks set to grow but slowly in 2016 as production numbers for the first half of the year indicate. According to reports in the Edge Financial Daily, cement production fell by 4.2 per cent in 1H2016, with demand forecast to grow by just three per cent under the most optimistic projections. In an interview with Edge, Thierry Legrand, CEO of Lafarge Malaysia, ...
Ghana: ban on imports
With concerns registered by trade groups in the country, the importation of cement to Ghana will be banned following a change to the Import and Export Regulations Bill. The new Bill will outlaw bagging and importation of cement to Ghana starting from 5 August 2016. Due to Ghana’s cooperation with the ECOWAS trade agreements, this new regulation will exempt imports from ECOWAS-member countri...
Morocco: June sales down 11%, but market remains stable in 1H16
Moroccan cement sales in June declined by 10.8 per cent from 1,164,837t in June 2015 to 1,039,383t, according to the Ministry of Housing and City Policy. Sales in the first half of 2016 edged up 1.7 per cent to 7,460,834t from 7,337,161t in 1H15. Gains were reported across the country in 1H16 although Beni Mellal-Khenifra, Draa-Tafilalet and Guelmim-Oued Noun saw their regional markets c...
Philippines: consumers complain over quality and prices
The National Consumer Affairs Council (NCAC) has called on the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) to take action on complaints about substandard cement entering the market, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports. Chair of the NCAC, Jose Pepito, said: “This complaint has been there for a long time, so I’m wondering why nothing has been done about it,” he said in an interview with the Inq...
Saudi Arabia: Umm AlQura signs deal with Aramco
Umm AlQura Cement has signed an agreement with Aramco to purchase fuel for its new Portland cement production line close to Taif city. According to a statement to the Saudi Stock exchange from Umm AlQura, the company expects trials and commercial production to start in 3Q16. Umm AlQura said that the Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry and Minerals had previously agreed to supply the fuel on...
India: Emami plans national presence
Emami Cement Ltd, part of the Emami Group, announced its plans to expand on a national scale over the next 5-7 years, with intentions to open plants in areas such as Rajasthan and Karnataka, India. Company Director Aditya Vardhan Agarwal said operations have already begun at its clinker plant at Chhattisgarh. "The plant produces clinker of 4Mta. 5Mta of cement could be produced with this 4M...
Saudi Arabia: Northern Cement profits fall 24%
Northern Region Cement Company reported a net profit of SAR48.66m (US$13m) in 2Q16, down 24 per cent from SAR64m (US$17m) compared to the same period last year. However, profits were up 13.4 per cent compared to 1Q16. This QoQ rise is due to increased clinker sales and the YoY decrease is attributed to increased production costs as a result of higher energy prices and falling sales. Norther...
Pakistan: producers warn that tax increase will encourage smuggling
The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has warned that the decision to impose an additional excise duty imposed in this year’s federal budget 2016-17 could lead to a rise in smuggling of cement from Iran. The Nation reports that the Pakistani cement industry lost 1Mt in sales due to Iranian cement being smuggled into coastal areas. The APCMA criticised what it said was a ...
Saudi Arabia: sales volumes fall 27%
Total cement sales in Saudi Arabia declined 27 per cent YoY and 39.6 per cent MoM in June, to 4.1Mt. Cement production in June was 3.66Mt, down 25 per cent YoY and 34.6 per cent MoM. June’s fall in sales volume can be attributed to Ramadan, which fell solely in June this year, unlike last year when it was split across June and July. All cement producers reported a decline in sales during th...
India: fresh calls for Kerala to control rising cement prices
The price of cement in Kerala – which has reached up to INR430/bag (US$6.40) – has again provoked calls for the state government to intervene, reports the Hindu. The newspaper quotes a cement dealer in Kochi who claims that cement prices in Kerala are INR200 higher than in other parts of India. While companies had not raised prices, they have stopped offering discounts to dealers, the Hindu...
Pakistan: cement demand to grow 8% in run-up 2018
The Pakistani demand for cement during the ongoing FY16-17 and next financial year FY17-18 is expected to grow at a rate of eight per cent annually. This follows the government showing a strong commitment towards the China Pakistan Economic Corridor-led infrastructure development and its higher allocation of funds, up to 20 per cent of the PKR1.675trn (US$15.98bn) to the Public Sector Developm...