IRan
Ashaka Cement faults plan to ban 32.5 grade cement 28 March 2014
Nigeria: Ashaka Cement plc has come out against the Nigerian government's plan to ban the production of 32.5 grade cement in Nigeria. The Chairman of Ashaka Cement, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, said that rather than ban 32.5 grade cement, it should be produced alongside 42.5 grade cement. This would not only provide consumers with the freedom of choice, but also assist in securing jobs that have already been created through the production of 32.5 grade cement.
There had been arguments that the use of the 32.5 grade cement in the construction sector was a major reason for the increase in building collapse, which resulted in the formation of a technical committee to review cement standardisation by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
"Cement is not responsible for building collapses in Nigeria," said Kwairanga." So much research has already been done and we have seen that building collapse is more related to issues other than the cement itself. It's either from the professionals or consultants that are handling the building jobs, who have not followed the specifications."
Kwairanga added that Ashaka Cement has approved plans to expand its operation with a US$606m investment in cement production in Gombe. The amount would increase the cement production capacity of the company to 2.5Mt/yr. Barring any last minute change, the ground breaking ceremony for the project will be performed by the Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan in early April 2014.
Kwairanga said, "We are taking our US$606m investment to the north-eastern state of Gombe. The total value of setting up the 2.5Mt/yr cement plant and a power plant is US$705m.
Iran: Iran plans to boost cement production to 75Mt by March 2014 and 85Mt by the end of the next Iranian calendar year, which starts on 21 March 2014.
"Iran, with a cement capacity of 70Mt/yr, is the world's fourth largest producer of cement after China, India and the United States," said Abdolreza Sheikhan, secretary of the Union of Cement Industry Employers, at the Sixth International Cement, Concrete and Construction Technology Exhibition in Tehran. He added that Iran will become the world's third-largest cement producer if its 75Mt nominal capacity becomes its actual production level.
Late in November 2013, Sheikhan said the country's cement output hit 44.6Mt in the first 7 months of the Iranian calendar year (21 March to 20 October 2013), a 2% growth compared to the same period in 2012. Iran's cleaner production hit 43.4Mt during the same period with 4% growth compared to the same period in 2012. He added Iran's cement and cleaner production reached 6.19Mt and 5.89Mt respectively in October 2013.
Pakistan cement exports to Afghanistan threatened 04 December 2013
Pakistan: Exports of cement from Pakistan to Afghanistan have fallen year-on-year for the first four months of the Pakistan fiscal year that started on 1 July 2013, according to figures from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturing Association (APCMA).
For the first four months of the 2013 fiscal year Pakistan exported 1.46Mt of cement, less than one third of the 4.4Mt of cement exported in the entire 2012 fiscal year. Exports to India are also down year-on-year, at 0.14Mt for the first four months of the 2013 fiscal year.
Commentators in the Pakistani media attributed the fall in exports to competition from Iranian exports in Afghanistan and falling demand in India. Once NATO troops leave Afghanistan the cement consumption in that country is expected to become volatile depending on whether civil unrest grows or if government development programmes continue. Cement exports to Afghanistan currently comprise 50% of Pakistan's cement exports.
Iran produces over 38Mt of cement in six months 07 October 2013
Iran: Iran produced 38.4Mt of cement in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on 21 March 2013, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). This is a 6% rise year-on-year from the same period in the previous year.
In September 2013, the chairman of the Iranian cement employers association said that Iran was the fourth leading cement producer in the world and the top producer in the Middle East. The country's cement production is forecast to be 80Mt/yr by the end of the current Iranian calendar year.
Iranian cement producers owe banks Euro750m 30 September 2013
Iran: Cement producers in Iran owe about Euro750m to the country's banking system, according to Abdolreza Sheykhan, the secretary of Iran's Cement Producers Association.
Sheykhan added that cement producers were also incurring losses due to changes in foreign currency rates, in a report by Iran's Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper. Cement producers received bank credits based on an old official rate of 9000 rials to the US$. However they have to pay back the credit at a new rate of 25,000 rials to the US$.
Iraq bans imports of white cement from Iran 18 September 2013
Iraq/Iran: Iraq has banned imports of Iranian white cement from the Iranian border towns of Shalamcheh and Chazabeh, according to Sadeq Sava'edi, the deputy head of Khuzestan's Cement Exporters Union. Iraq is still importing grey cement and other construction materials.
"Iran exports 8000t/day and 6000t/day respetively of construction materials from the Chazabeh and Shalamcheh borders areas to Iraq," said Savaedi to the ISNA news agency.
Previously Iraq banned imports of cement of Iran completely in June 2013 but trade resumed shortly afterwards. In January 2013 the Iran - Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Secretary General Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi said that the value of trade between the two countries was about US$10.7bn/yr. He added that Iraq is Iran's main trading partner for non-oil goods.
Eurocement to fight cement imports to Russia 21 August 2013
Russia: Eurocement Group intends that its Podgorensky cement plant will fight imports from Turkey and Iran. The Russian cement producer's plant in the Voronezh Region in the south of the country will help to replace 80% of imports from these countries, said Eurocement president Mikhail Skorokhod in a press conference reported upon by the Moscow Times.
"If you look at the southern ports, you'll see that the amount of incoming cement has fallen sharply," said Skorokhod. "That is because the Podgorensky plant came into being." He added that the customers agreed to switch to the more expensive Eurocement products after the company convinced them of their higher quality.
Imports accounted for almost 8% of the 65.2Mt of cement that the Russian market consumed in 2012, an increase from 5% in 2011. Skorokhod said Iran's state-owned companies were able to offer lower prices because they receive subsidies from a government that is under US-led trade restrictions. Eurocement may also turn to the World Trade Organization for an antidumping investigation.
Iraq follows Turkmenistan on Iranian imports 11 June 2013
Iraq/Iran: Following a similar move by Turkmenistan, Iraq will stop importing Iranian cements from 1 July 2013, according to Sadeq Sava'edi, the deputy head of Khuzestan's Cement Exporters Union in Iran. Iran currently exports 20,000-30,000t/day of cement to Iraq.
Sava'edi said that the move aims to boost Iraq's domestic cement production, according to the ISNA News Agency quoted. He further said that political and security issues were also influential in the decision.
The news from Iraq, which is Iran's largest destination for cement exports, came as Mohammad Fatemian, an official with the Iranian Industry, Mine, and Trade Ministry said that Iran plans to export 18.5Mt of cement in the current Iranian calendar year, which ends on 20 March 2014. Iran's cement and clinker exports stood at 16.5Mt for the year to 20 March 2013, exporting 11.85Mt of cement and 1.79Mt of clinker.
Iran produced over 70Mt of cement in the past Iranian calendar year, according to cement industry officials. Capacity is expected to reach 110Mt/yr by 2015.
Iran exported cement to 24 countries including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Oman, India and China in the past Iranian year.
Iran to build 2Mt/yr cement plant in Iraq 01 May 2013
Iraq: Iran plants to build a 2Mt/yr cement plant in Iraq, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The project will cost around US$245m with an opening date set for 2015. Cement produced at the plant will be exported using Iranian brand names.
Iran exports 13.65Mt in 2012 - 2013 year 17 April 2013
Iran: Iran exported over 13.65Mt of cement and clinker in the Iranian calendar year which ended on 20 March 2013. The country exported over 11.85Mt of cement and 1.79Mt of clinker, according to the IRNA News Agency.
1.04Mt of cement and 179,000t of clinker were exported in the last month of this period, from 19 February 2013 to 20 March 2013. In the 2012 - 2013 year Iran exported cement to 24 countries including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Oman, India and China.
Abdolreza Sheykhan, an official with Iran's Cement Producers Association, said in February 2013 that the country plans to increase its cement output up to 85Mt by the end of the 2013 - 2014 Iranian calendar year. Sheykhan also expressed the hope that Iran's cement exports would reach 18 - 20Mt in the current calendar year.