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Displaying items by tag: Export
Pakistan cement exports to Afghanistan threatened
04 December 2013Pakistan: 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.
Saudi Arabia cement exports down 55% to 245,000t in nine months
04 November 2013Saudi Arabia: The volume of cement exports fell by 55% to 245,000t in the first nine months of 2013, compared to 547,000t of exports in the same period of 2012. The Saudi cement firms imported around 39,000t of cement and 1,925,000t of clinker in the same period. During the first nine months of 2012, 399,000t of clinker was imported.
In April 2013 King Abdullah ordered 10Mt of cement imported to meet the growing demand due to the expansion of development projects and government-led infrastructure projects. Cement was exclusively exported by Saudi Cement Co. (SCC), the Eastern Province Cement Co. (EPCC) and Riyadh Cement Co. (RCC), whose exports reached 123,000t, 82,000t and 40,000t, respectively.
Cimpor to focus on exports
16 October 2013Portugal: Cimpor wants to focus its Portuguese operations on exports, according to its CEO Ricardo Lima. The cement producer's market in Portugal is shrinking and its cement production capacity is increasingly being used for exports, Lima has told newspaper Diario Economico.
Cimpor has a cement production capacity of around 9Mt/yr in Portugal but its domestic demand is only 1.5Mt/yr. Meanwhile, export volumes have doubled since 2011. Cimpor exports to Algeria, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Gambia, Nigeria, Cameroon and northern Brazil.
Camargo Corrêa became the majority shareholder of Cimpor in 2012. Through subsequent restructuring almost 200 employees, mainly administrative staff, left the company. At present Cimpor has no plans to shut down plants in Portugal.
Armenia: The National Statistical Service of Armenia has reported that cement production dropped by 3.5% year-on-year for the first six months of 2013, from 186,300t to 180,000t. Exports doubled in the same period to 92,000t from 46,000t. A crisis in construction in Armenia has been blamed for the fall in production, whilst growth in neighbouring Georgia has been linked with the growth in exports.
"Domestic demand is also low, so we are working at low capacity. We are going to suspend our work shortly as there is no demand for cement in winter," said Naira Martirosyan, CEO of Mika Cement, one of Armenia's leading producers. She added that Mika Cement has not exported cement since 2010 due to growing energy and transportation costs.
In 2011 Armenia was reported to have exported 98,000t compared to 34,000t in 2010. In 2011 a 13.4% drop in construction to some 422,200t was also noted.
Venezuela considers Jamaican cement payment for oil
16 September 2013Venezuela/Jamaica: Venezuela's Minister of Petroleum and mining Rafael Ramirez is 'listening' to a proposal Jamaica has made to pay for its debts to Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA). Jamaican minister Phillip Paulwell made the offer to tackle debts of US$350m raised under the Petrocaribe agreement between the nations where Venezuela supplies oil. However, Caracas-based newspaper El Nacional has reported doubts that Caribbean Cement Co would be able to meet the level of cement exports to Venezuela required to meet the Gran Mision Vivienda state housing programme.
PDVSA currently ships 26,000 barrels/day of oil to Jamaica's state energy company Petrojam. The Petrocaribe agreement includes Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas, Belice, Cuba, Dominica, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haití, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic Dominicana, San Cristóbal & Nieves, San Vicente & Granadinas, St Lucia and Suriname.
Azerbaijan takes more Georgian cement in first half of 2013
27 August 2013Azerbaijan/Georgia: A total of 249,770t of cement, worth US$18.5m, was exported from Georgia to Azerbaijan in the first half of 2013, according to a report by the National Statistical Service of Georgia. For comparison, in January to June 2012 196,080t of cement worth US$14.4m was exported from Georgia to Azerbaijan.
Zambia: Zambezi Portland Cement has reduced its export sales by 50% to cope with increased domestic demand in Zambia. According to sales and marketing manager Isaac Ngoma, the company had been exporting more than 14,000t/month to neighbouring countries. Export sales will now be limited to 7000t/month.
"For us, the Zambian market is our first priority and only the excess product is sold abroad, so with demand reaching an all time high locally, we see little sense in continuing to service foreign markets while starving the local market," said Ngoma.
Zambezi Portland Cement has a cement production capacity of 1400t/day and it is currently producing at over 95% of its installed capacity.
President approves creation of Belarusian Cement Corporation
19 August 2013Belarus: President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has approved the creation a new cement company, the Belarusian Cement Corporation. The new holding company is expected to control three cement manufacturers: Belarusian Cement Plant in Kastsyukovichy, Mahilyow region, Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly in Vawkavysk, Hrodna region, and Krychawtsementnashyfer in the Mahilyow region, as well as a transport and logistics company.
The Belarusian Cement Corporation is to be established in 2014 and attract a strategic investor in 2015. The establishment of the corporation is intended to decrease production costs, increase profits and raise exports. After project capacity is achieved in 2015, the company will have a cement production capacity of 9.5Mt/yr.
Star Cement starts river exports to Bangladesh
14 August 2013Bangladesh/India: India's Star Cement has started exporting clinker to Bangladesh by river. According to a report by the Times of India, the cement producer aims to export over 50,000t/month of clinker to Bangladesh by this route.
"Exporting clinker to Bangladesh by the river will give an edge to the company to encounter the stiff competition it is likely to face from manufacturers of Southeast Asian countries, all of whom cater to 99% clinker requirement of this country," said a Star Cement official.
In a pilot project in 2012 Star Cement had started clinker exports to Bangladesh by road. The company has deals with several leading cement producers in Bangladesh to meet their clinker requirements and is planning more.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: The Bosnian-Herzegovinian cement producer Tvornica Cementa Kakanj (TCK), part of Germany's HeidelbergCement, has announced that it expects its net profit to increase by 20 - 25% to Euro5.6 - 6.1m in 2013, while it expects cement sales to be broadly flat at around 425,000t. The effects from ongoing investment and process-optimisation measures are expected to kick in in 2013, generating savings that should lead to the projected rise in net profit, according to company director Branimir Muidza. Speaking to regional news agency SeeNews, he described the targets as ambitious and optimistic but not unrealistic.
TCK is making its claims in the midst of a Bosnian market that is estimated to require only 1.05Mt of cement in 2013, a decrease from the 1.10Mt/yr consumed in 2012. In 2008 - 2009 cement consumption was as high as 1.85Mt. Muidza expects that the lack of new investments in the industrial sector and new infrastructure, rising unemployment, illiquidity in the construction sector and a crisis in the real estate market would lead to a continued slump.
Muidza said that the expected impact on TCK's business from the recent EU accession of Croatia, which is the company's largest export market, would not cause problems for TCK, as its cement is already made to EU standards. He added that if Croatia benefits from EU accession further down the road, so will TCK.
Going forward, TCK's investment pipeline for the 2013 - 2014 period features a project for the automation of cement milling and packing operations, modernisation of its sampling laboratory, upgrade of its weighing system, construction of an administrative building and procurement of new IT equipment. No production capacity upgrades have been planned over the medium term as the existing capacity is sufficient to meet the current market demand.
When it comes to long-term investments, which covers the period until 2018, the company plans the construction of a cement silo which should further expand the range of its products and therefore put it in a better competitive position. The cost of the investment is currently thought to be US$10.3m.