Iran: cement exports down 20%

Iranian cement and clinker exports have fallen by 20 per cent over the past Iranian year (1394), an official said on Tuesday.

The secretary of the Association of Cement Industry Entrepreneurs, Abdolreza Sheikhan, said that Iran's exports of cement and clinker shrank to nearly 15Mt from 18.5Mt a year ago. Sheikhan stated security concerns in regional countries as a key reason cements and clinker export fell over the past year.

He said that in 1394, some 60 per cent of Iranian exports of cement and clinker were sent to Iraq. However, he noted that Iraq increased tariffs on import of cement from US$4 to US$13 for each tonne last year and gradually raised tariffs to US$72  for each ton this year.

Sheikhan states that Iran has put marketing for cement in Africa and Central Asia on the agenda.