IRan

Iran: Cement production fell by 4.8% year-on-year to 37.7Mt in the eight-month period to 21 November 2017. The decline has been blamed on a recession in the construction industry, poor natural gas supplies and falling export rates, according to the Trend News Agency. The country produced 54.1Mt of cement in its last financial year. Cement production capacity has risen significantly locally from 29.5Mt/yr in 2001 to 83Mt/yr in 2017. The number of cement plants has grown from 30 to 72.

Ghana/Iran: Ghana and Iran are building a 0.6Mt/yr cement plant at the Dawa Industrial Enclave near Tema in Ghana. Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia commissioned construction work at the project, according to the Ghana News Agency. The plant is scheduled for completion in late 2019. The project is a joint venture between the two countries, with Iran holding a 90% stake.

Mozambique: Iran’s Qeshm Cement Company has prepared its first consignment of cement and clinker for exports to Mozambique. 47,000t of clinker and 3000t of clinker will be shipped on a free on board trade basis, according to the Bourse Press Agency. Hormoz Amiri, an official at Iran’s Qeshm Free Zone, added that the trading enclave plans to export 0.2Mt/yr of cement and clinker to Africa in the current Iranian financial year.

Iran/Iraq: Iraq has imposed a 45% tariff on cement import from Iran, according to the head of non-metal mine products and the Department of Ministry of Industries and Business in Iran. Seifollah Amiri of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce said, “Currently, only exporting clinker to Iraq is possible.”

Iran exported 12Mt of cement worth US$695m in the Iranian fiscal year that ran to 19 March 2017. Iraq took US$441m worth of material. Assuming that all exports are the same price per tonne, this equates to around 7.6Mt of cement.

Qatar: Mohamed Ali al-Sulaity, the general manager of the Qatar National Cement Company, says that a blockade of the country by neighbouring states has not effected its cement production. Al-Sulaity said that the cement producer has secured supplies of raw materials and is importing gypsum and iron oxide from Oman, according to the Al Sharq newspaper. He added that bags are being imported from Kuwait.

The company says that it has a surplus of cement production and is able to meet the country’s demand. It plans to operate its 5000t/day kiln number 5 in September 2017 that will increase its clinker production capacity to 19,000t/day and its cement capacity to 21,000t/day.

Several Middle Eastern countries – including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt – cut diplomatic links and implemented trade and travel embargos with Qatar in June 2017 over alleged links to terrorist groups and links to Iran.

Iran: The Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has urged cement producers increase their exports to Russia to take advantage of rising demand. Russian cement consumption is expected to reach 140Mt as it builds infrastructure for projects like the FIFA 2018 World Cup, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Iran exported 11.5Mt of cement in the 11 month period to 18 February 2017. Exports are hoped to nearly triple to 32Mt/yr by 2025 following targets set by the government’s Vision Plan.

Vietnam: Vietnam exported 6.72Mt of cement and clinker worth US$235m in the first four months of 2017. This represents a 12.8% increase in volume terms compared to the first four months of 2016, but only a 7.9% in value terms.

In April 2017 the country’s clinker and cement exports rose by 6.7% month-on-month in volume terms and by 7.6% in value to 1.92Mt at a value of US$67.4m, according to the latest data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Bangladesh, the Philippines, Peru, Mozambique, Malaysia and Taiwan remained the biggest importers of Vietnamese cement and clinker in the four-month period.

At present, Vietnam has become the fifth biggest cement producer and consumer in the world after China, India, Iran and the United States. The country now has 76 cement production lines with a combined output of 82Mt/yr. It is predicted to face a glut of between 25-35Mt/yr of cement by 2020 as domestic production has outstripped the real demand and local firms have failed to compete with other exporters in the region.

Oman: Iran’s Hormozgan Cement has entered into a shareholder’s agreement with Al Anwar Holdings to build a 1Mt/yr cement grinding plant in the Duqm special economic zone. The project is expected to have an investment of US$27m and commissioning of the project is subject to receiving approvals from relevant regulatory authorities and required funding from banking institutions in Oman.

Iran: President Hassan Rouhani has opened the 1Mt/yr Bagheran cement plant near Birjand in South Khorasan. The plant cost US$160m to build and its output will be supplied domestically as well as to Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. The unit is expected to create around 350 direct jobs.

Pakistan: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has found that Zeal Pak Cement dodged paying US$19.7m to the authorities via tax evasion and money laundering schemes. As well as underpaying tax on imports of cement the cement producer also sent money to Iran, according to the National Herald Tribune newspaper. The FBR was alerted to the malpractice mid-way through importing a 86,500t consignment of Ordinary Portland Cement that was subsequently impounded. Zeal Pak Cement is also accused of fabricating false invoices and other documents.