China imported 184,600t of clinker in the first 11 months of 2017, over four times the amount imported during the year-ago period, according to Caixin Global. These figures have been attributed to a surge in domestic prices making it more cost effective to import the material.
The majority of the clinker was imported from Vietnam for companies based in Hainan, Shandong, Zhejiang and Beijing.
The rise in domestic clinker prices has been linked to a government campaign to limit the production of some heavy industries such as cement to reduce air pollution. On 5 December, the price in Anhui province and some areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces saw an increase of CNY50/t (US$7.68/t) to over CNY500/t.
