Displaying items by tag: Import

South Korea: Due to high prices of cement, the government has announced plans to import Chinese cement, which is reportedly about 15% cheaper than domestically produced cement. The preparations to import it, including certification and the construction of storage warehouses, will take about two years.

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement Corporation, one of the island's largest coal importers, will completely halt its cooperation with Russia, according to The Moscow Times. This decision exacerbates the challenges faced by Russian coal exporters, who have already seen a nearly 12% decline in exports from January to July 2024. Since spring 2023, Taiwan has purchased more than 10Mt of Russian coal, accounting for nearly 20% of the island's total coal imports.

Kyrgyzstan: 174,800t of cement entered Kyrgyzstan in the first half of 2024, more than double first-half 2023 import volumes of 83,200t. Neighbouring Kazakhstan supplied 152,000t (87%) of the total, according to data from the Kyrgyz National Statistical Committee. Central Asia News has reported that other imports originated from China, Iran and Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan’s first-half cement production declined by 2% year-on-year in the period under review, to 1.3Mt. However, it grew by 10% year-on-year in June 2024. The country exported 190,000t of cement throughout the first half of 2024, all of it to Uzbekistan, down by 21% from first-half 2023 levels.

A couple of stories have popped up this week regarding restrictions on cement imports. First, authorities in Taiwan have launched an anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese cement. Secondly, and perhaps more surprisingly given its growing economy, the authorities in Kyrgyzstan are planning to ban overland imports of cement from within Central Asia. More on that later…

First, to the Far East, where Taiwan’s Trade Remedies Authority has launched an anti-dumping investigation into cement and clinker imported from Vietnam. It will assess imports covering the year from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 and target seven specific Vietnamese cement producers among others. The Vietnamese companies are mandatory respondents – they will be compelled to answer investigators’ questions.

Vietnamese cement has long been among the cheapest in the region due to the country’s drive to hit production targets, rather than simply meeting demand. The situation has resulted in a vast amount of cement available for export. This, coupled to Vietnam’s long, indented coastline, makes it easy to ship cement overseas.

Even with export volumes falling by 1.2% year-on-year to 31.3Mt in 2023, around a third of Vietnam’s capacity, this is a massive volume of cement - and it’s only getting cheaper. The average export value of Vietnamese cement and clinker fell from US$46-48/t at the start of 2023 to just US$31-32/t in May 2024, a decline of 30-35%. These changes have been due, in part, to an increase in tax on clinker exports from 5% to 10% on 1 January 2023 and an anti-dumping investigation launched by the Philippines in March 2023. Falling prices and volumes represent a ‘double-whammy’ for producers, several of which have announced that they made losses in the first half of 2024. Vicem’s top management said that challenges also arose at home due to a reduced demand following limited civil engineering projects and a stagnant real estate market.

It is easy to see why Taiwanese cement producers may feel threatened by the prospect of greater volumes of cheap cement on their doorstep. Taiwan only made 4.9Mt/yr of cement in the first half of 2024. With domestic prices in the region of US$65-70/t according to Cement Network, this provides a very attractive margin of US$33-39/t for Vietnamese producers to export to Taiwan. It will be interesting to see how far the country’s authorities are willing to go to protect the country’s producers and whether any anti-dumping policies lead to further falls in the landed volumes of Vietnamese cement.

Meanwhile, 4600km to the west, Kyrgyzstan has announced that it will enforce a six-month road import ban on several types of cement including Portland cement, alumina cement and slag cement. The ban, affecting both cement and clinker, will take effect on 1 October 2024 and last for six months. According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, the country saw a 76% year-on-year increase in cement imports – mainly from Iran, Kazakhstan, China and Uzbekistan - between January 2024 and May 2024. The total import volume over the five months was 125,737t. For a country that made just 1Mt over the same period, this is a major change.

The overland import ban is more of a surprise than the Taiwan / Vietnam situation, as Kyrgyzstan recently reported that the North of the country was experiencing a ‘construction boom’ and cement shortages. However, two new plants due to start production in the coming months could help the country out... unless it too would like to export its newly-developed cement production capacity.

And here we arrive at a ‘classic’ impasse. From Pakistani cement in South Africa, to price arguments in West Africa, import bans in Central Asia and Vietnamese cement in Philippines and Taiwan, more and more exporters are finding that their markets are already self-sufficient in cement, with the US perhaps the notable exception. Soon there will be nowhere left for cement to be exported to. Are we at peak cement?

Kyrgyzstan: Starting on 1 October 2024, Kyrgyzstan will enforce a six-month road import ban on several types of cement including Portland cement, alumina cement and slag cement, according to Trend. The Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Akylbek Japarov, signed the decree affecting both ready and clinker forms of these cements. According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, a 76% year-on-year increase in cement imports from January - May 2024 has been reported, totalling 125,737t. These imports are predominantly from Iran, Kazakhstan, China and Uzbekistan.

Vietnam: Taiwan has launched an anti-dumping investigation into cement and clinker imported from Vietnam. The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam announced that Taiwan's inquiry, initiated on 8 August 2024, focuses on cement and clinker with the import codes 2523.29.90.00.2 and 2523.10.90.00.3, requested by the Taiwan Cement Manufacturers Association. The investigation will assess imports from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, targeting seven specific Vietnamese companies, among other exporters. The Vietnamese companies are mandatory respondents in this investigation and must engage fully by submitting the required information to the Ministry of Finance within the stipulated 20 days from initiation of the investigation.

Tunisia: Les Ciments de Bizerte continues to face disruptions due to a financial crisis, limiting its operations to grinding imported clinker and managing petcoke shipments for third parties, African Manager News reports. Clinker production has been suspended throughout the second quarter of 2024, due to a lack of petcoke.

Cement production plummeted by 70% to 33,282t in the second quarter of 2024 from 109,855t during the same period in 2023. Lime production also declined by 37% due to reduced national demand. Local sales in the first half of 2024 decreased by 60% from US$16.3m in 2023 to US$6.6m in 2024, with exports completely halted during the first half of 2024. The company is in the process of paying off its debts.

Taiwan: Taiwan will initiate an anti-dumping investigation into cement and clinker imports from Vietnam in August 2024, according to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The TRAV has advised the Vietnam Cement Association to inform its members and coordinate with Taiwanese importers for market monitoring, reports the Vietnam News Brief Service. Companies must provide export data from 2021 to mid-2024 by 12 August 2024.

Vietnamese cement and clinker exports have seen a decline in recent years. In 2023, exports fell to 31.3Mt, valued at US$1.32bn, down by 1.2% year-on-year. From January to July 2024, exports decreased further to 18.3Mt, worth US$705m, a decline of 1% compared to the same period in 2023. The VNCA forecast continued challenges for cement and clinker exports due to China’s stagnant real estate market and surplus cement production.

Kyrgyzstan: Amidst a nationwide construction boom, Kyrgyzstan faces a cement shortage in its northern regions, Central Asia News reports. The current production in northern plants is insufficient, leading to imports from Kazakhstan which do not meet demand.

Nurdan Oruntaev, Head of State Construction Agency, said “I think the problem will be resolved with the launch of two new cement plants, which are under construction. Prices can then be regulated."

South Africa: PPC has warned of increased risks from substandard cement in the South African market, advocating for state intervention to protect the local industry from unfair competition. The broader South African cement industry continues to face challenges from dumped imports and locally blended variants, with latest Cement Import Montior research from March 2024 cautioning that local cement cement producers may be forced to mothball plants, putting thousands of jobs on the line as the number of cheap cement imports rises. PPC plans to engage with the South African Bureau of Standards for stricter compliance testing. Its recovery strategy includes exiting non-core businesses and major structural adjustments, aiming for tangible results in two years but resulting in possible in job cuts.