Saudi Arabia recorded 807,000t of cement exports in October 2023, according to Aljazira Capital. This marks an 11.9 per cent advance on the 721,000t reported in the same month a year earlier. Local sales, meanwhile, came in at 4.21Mt in October, down 11.1 per cent from the 4.7Mt seen in October 2022 as the ongoing weakness in housing construction continues. On a MoM basis, local shipments grew 7.5 per cent. 

Clinker inventories in October 2023 stood at 39.75Mt, reports Zawya, representing a 12.1 per cent YoY advance and 0.2 per cent MoM uptick, reaching their highest level in three years. The Saudi cement sector’s utilisation rate came in at 64.6 per cent in October, down 305.6 basis points YoY.