Saudi Arabian cement heads to Yemen

Large quantities of cement from Saudi Arabia are being smuggled into Yemen at competitive prices due to the decline of local supply and increased demand in Yemen, according to local press reports.

Head of the financial sector of the Public Cement Corp, Abul-Malik Al Qirishi told the Yemen Times that trucks that transfer salt to the Saudi town of Jazan, return to the Hodeida in Yemen carrying Saudi Arabian cement.

Mr Al Qirishi states that the increasing flows to Yemeni markets is due to the suspension of production at some local factories including Amran Cement Factory which is the main supplier to the capital Sana’a and its surrounding areas. He also highlighted that Saudi cement is largely purchased in Hodeida and on the Yemen-Saudi borders and that quantities of cement have recently been transferred to Sana’a.

With the exception of Amran and Al-Watania cement factories, all the other five cement factories stopped production, the newspaper reports. Al-Qirshi says that the production of Al-Watania’s production was suspended due to roadblocks in Lahj.??Earlier this year, the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry suspended cement exports to meet domestic demand and to stabilize its prices, after the Saudi markets witnessed a steep rise in cement prices due to the increased demand and declining supply.