South Korea's cement prices rise again

Cement prices in South Korea will rise for a second time this year, leaving ready-mix concrete producers to find ways to lessen the impact, reports Korea JoongAng Daily.

Sampyo Cement will increase the price of cement by 11.7 per cent to KRW105,000/t from September. Buyers of Hanil Cement’s product will pay out 15 per cent more at KRW106,000/t.

Sampyo Cement increased its prices by 19 per cent in February 2022, along with Sungshin Cement, SsangYong Construction and Engineering and Halla Cement, which increased their price between 15-18 per cent.

Hanil Cement and Sampyo Cement attributed their need for a second price rise this year to increasing raw material prices. The price of bituminous coal, used to fire South Korea’s cement kilns, has soared since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The price of bituminous coal has increased 192.5 per cent YoY to US$251.45/t, according to Korea Mineral Resource Information Service. South Korea imports 71.5 per cent of its bituminous coal from Russia.