Tourah Cement halts production due to oversupply

Egyptian cement producer Tourah Cement, owned by Heidelberg Cement, has suspended production as a result of oversupply in its domestic market. The company is considering liquidation.

“Estimated cement consumption during 2019 will end at around 50Mt while total capacity of all competitors stands above 85Mt,” Tourah Managing Director, Jose Maria Magrina, said in a letter to employees last week and seen by Reuters. “This extra capacity is more than the total consumption in one year of countries like Italy, Spain, Morocco or South Africa,” he added.

Tourah, which was established in 1927 as the country’s first cement company, has accumulated EGP800m of debt and the company’s management is now considering the cement producer’s final liquidation.