The government of Belarus will invest up to US$300m in the domestic cement sector within the next five years with the aim of expanding output and increasing efficiency.
 
As part of state plans, the planned modernisation will significantly decrease the cost of cement production in Belarus. In 2022 the average price per tonne of cement rose 14 per cent YoY, followed by a 6.5 per cent YoY increase in 2023.
 
The plans will be the second large-scale modernisation of the Belarus cement sector after the first one, which was conducted in the early 2010s. At the time the government aimed to increase cement production and its supply to both domestic and export markets. That allowed domestic output to increase from 3.500Mt in 2007 to about 5.763Mt in 2024. Nominal capacity for Belarus’ three plants is 9.2Mta, but active capacity is reported as 5.2Mta. Domestic demand consumption was 3.673Mt in 2024. Cement consumption per capita in Belarus is roughly 80kg lower the central and eastern European average, coming in at 401kg in 2024, but is well above western European levels of 294kg. About 95 per cent of the Belarus cement output is supplied for the needs of the country’s construction sector, which has expanded robustly in recent years.
 
According to the Russian Union of Cement Producers Soyuzcement, Russia remains the major export destination for Belarus cement producers. Imports into Russia amounted to 3.4Mt in 2023 and 3.7Mt in 2024, of which Belarus supplied 70 per cent. Analysts predictions, are for imports to amount to 4.5Mt in 2025, which will be the highest figure in 10 years. Belarus has also previously sold cement to Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries, but economic sanctions have curtailed access to these markets.
 
At present the cement industry in Belarus consists of three major producers: Krasnoselskstroymaterialy, Belarusian Cement Plant and Krichevcementnoshifer, which are controlled by the Belarusian Cement Co. The company increased its output by six per cent YoY in 2024 and hopes for a further increase in 2025. Several years ago, the Belarus media also reported about the plans for the Iranian company Azarab Ind Co to build a fourth cement plant in the country, which was supposed to be located in the Vetkovsky district of the Gomel region. However, the project was never implemented.