Turkey exported 600,000t of cement to Iraq in 2003, up from 40,000t in 2002, Turkish Cement Manufacturers’ Association chairman Adnan Ignebekcili said on May 10, 2004. The exports are expected to further increase in near future, Ignebekcili added. Turkey exported 7.3Mt of cement in 2003 up from 5.5Mt in 2002. The country’s cement output increased to 28.106Mt in 2003 from 26.2Mt in 2002.
Turkey’s cement consumption reached a record high 34.5Mt in 1998 and since then it started falling, as a result of two consecutive financial crises in 2000 and 2001. The consumption edged down to 25.5Mt in 2001. In 2002 and 2003 the consumption registered a year-on-year increase of 6.7 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively. Currently Turkey has an annual capacity of 36Mt of clinker and between 50Mt and 55Mt of cement. The demand on the local market is not expected to reach 45Mt before 2012, Ignebekcili said.
