Displaying items by tag: Export

Pakistan: Cement exports fell by 26.1% to 560,000t in May 2015 as cheap Iranian cement is eating Pakistan's market share in Afghanistan, according to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Pakistan exported 750,000t of cement in May 2014.

"Iranian cement is fast making inroads into Afghanistan," said an APCMA spokesperson. APCMA data showed that exports dropped by 10.8% to 6.64Mt between July 2014 and May 2015. Cement makers exported 7.44Mt in the same period of the 2013 – 2014 financial year.

The APCMA appealed to the government to support local manufacturers in winning back the Afghan market by withdrawing duties, which would enable them to compete with highly-subsidised Iranian cement. There is a 5% federal excise duty and a 17% general sales tax on the retail price of cement. "The taxes are equal to around US$1.56/bag," said the spokesperson. "The incidence of high taxation encourages evasion and negatively impacts consumption." He added that the government should gradually bring federal excise duty to zero, as announced by the previous government.

Exports from the south increased by 4.5% in the July 2014 to May 2015 period. These exports go via the sea. However, exports from the north decreased by 18.3% due to the Iranian cement factor, as exports from the north usually go to Afghanistan. The spokesperson said that Iran is also dumping its cement in Balochistan, Pakistan and that cement smuggling from Iran to Balochistan is resulting in substantial losses to national exchequer. "Policy makers ignored warnings from the cement industry over the inundation of Iranian cement in Afghanistan," he said. "It has penetrated our local market." He said that full taxes are not paid on Iranian cement imports.

A road trailer entering Pakistan from the Taftan border carries up to 60t of cement. A transporter issues two different weight loads receipts, one for the customs department and another one for freight purposes. The APCMA said that if taxes are fully paid, the price of Iranian cement is equal to that of domestic cement.

Pakistani cement manufacturers dispatched 2.49Mt of cement in May 2015 compared to 2.3Mt in May 2014, up by 8%. Cement sales were 25.5Mt in the 11 months that ended on 31 May 2015, compared to 23.6Mt in the corresponding 2013 – 2014 period, depicting over 8% growth.

Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) said that growing cement exports have helped domestic cement plants to slash inventories in recent years.

Vietnam produced around 70.6Mt of cement in 2014, 15% higher than 2013. Domestic consumption totalled 50.9Mt, while export sales reached 21.1Mt, up by 10% and 30% year-on-year respectively. Big producers like Vicem, Nghi Son, Chinfon, Thang Long Vina, Vissai and Thang Long contributed 80% of total cement exports in 2014. Their major markets were Bangladesh, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of VNCA, said that the supply - demand balance would continue to improve in 2015 as demand for construction materials in the country and abroad is forecast to pick up. However, the VNCA warned that local cement enterprises would have to cope with fiercer competition at home and abroad. Cung said that Cong Thanh Cement Co would commission a 3.6Mt/yr clinker line in Thanh Hoa in June 2015. In addition, the Dong Lam and Thach My cement plants have run at full capacity so far in 2015. An imbalance between supply and demand might occur if clinker and cement exports decline as Vietnam now faces tough competition from other exporting countries like China, South Korea and Thailand.

Pakistan/Afghanistan: Pakistan's cement exports to Afghanistan fell by 24% during the first nine months of the 2015 fiscal year due to the exit of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces and smuggling. Industry sources said that the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan is also affecting Pakistan's economy.

"Since the announcement of the exit of NATO forces, Pakistani cement exports to Afghanistan have been in decline as development work in Afghanistan has come to standstill after the exit of foreign forces, resulted in lower cement demand," according to the industry sources.

The set-up of a new cement plant in Tajikistan has also affected Pakistan's cement exports to Afghanistan. Previously, Pakistani cement was being exported to central Asian countries via Afghanistan, but the new plant in Tajikistan targets the same markets. The industry sources said that the smuggling of Iranian cement is another major factor behind the recent decline in exports to Afghanistan.

According to official statistics of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), the cement export to Afghanistan notably fell by 24% during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. Pakistan exported 2.3Mt of cement to Afghanistan during July 2014 - April 2015 compared to 3.05Mt in corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

"We are expecting a further fall in cement exports to Afghanistan in the coming years as NATO forces were the major consumer of Pakistani cement. As per industry estimates, by the end of this fiscal year, cement exports to Afghanistan will be some 2.7Mt," said the industry sources.

Iran: Iran produced roughly 60Mt of cement in the last Iranian calendar year, which started on 21 March 2014. Of the total, 18Mt was exported, of which 80% went to Iraq, according to Shahriar Geravandi, a member of Iran's Cement Industries Association Board of Directors. He added that Iran is seeking new export markets. According to Geravandi, there are 68 cement plants in Iran.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's cement producers have again asked the government to lift a three-year-old ban on their exports so they can supply Egypt with 6Mt of cement, according to the chairman of Saudi Arabia's Cement Association.

"We are ready to export 6Mt of our cement surplus to Egypt following the signing of large contracts between that country and global companies this week," said Jihad Al-Rasheed, chairman of the national cement committee in the council of Saudi chambers of commerce and industry. Al-Rasheed said that it was time for Saudi authorities to lift the export ban after the emergence of 'golden' opportunities for the country's cement manufacturers to export their products to nearby Qatar, which needs large quantities of building materials for the planned stadia and other facilities for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. He added that other key markets that need Saudi cement include Kuwait, Bahrain, Sudan, Yemen and Ethiopia.

"Some Saudi cement plants were constructed in border areas with the aim of exporting their products to neighbouring countries, but the export ban has inflicted heavy losses on them and could force them to lay off workers," said Al-Rasheed. He added that cement companies in Saudi Arabia are trying to reduce a surplus of >20Mt by supplying domestic projects. "Most of the local government and private sector projects now have sufficient cement supplies. We want the Saudi government to lift the ban on cement exports in line with international trade rules," said Al-Rasheed.

Saudi Arabia partially lifted the cement export ban in 2009 before enforcing it again in 2012 to ensure enough supplies for domestic projects. According to Al-Rasheed, cement demand in Saudi Arabia stood at around 57.2Mt in 2014 and is projected to grow to nearly 59.5Mt in 2015.

Belarus: Belarusian manufacturers are expected to export 1.8Mt of cement in 2015, including 1.3Mt to be supplied to Russia's Eurocement, according to Construction minister Anatol Chorny. Belarus sold 980,000t of cement to Eurocement in 2014. Belarus' cement output is expected to total 6.1Mt in 2015, up from 5.8Mt in 2014.

"This year we have signed an exclusive contract for the supply of 1.3Mt," said Chorny. "The contract is advantageous to Belarus because 50% of the total amount shall be paid in advance and the rest shall be paid within 10 days of the delivery date. If the price of cement in the Russian market is lower than in Belarus, the Russian company will cover the losses. If the price will be higher, the difference will be equally divided." Belarus will also export cement to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, Poland and Lithuania in 2015.

Belarus' AAT Krychawtsementnashyfer in Krychaw, Mahilyow, operated at a loss in 2013. This was caused by its old production plant, which still uses natural gas to manufacture cement. In contrast, the company's new production facility generated a profit of about Euro676,000 in 2014. To reduce the cost of cement production, Krychawtsementnashyfer installed a cement kiln fuelled by waste tyres in 2014 and plans to start using coal dust as a fuel in 2015, according to Chorny.

Pakistan: Cement dispatches during the six months that ended on 31 December 2014 increased by 6% to 17.1Mt, compared with dispatches of 16.1Mt during the corresponding period of 2013, according to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA).

"The most pleasant aspect of this growth is that it is led by domestic consumption, which increased by 9.10% during July - December 2014," said the APCMA.

Analysis of the dispatches revealed that the plants located in north of the country showed robust growth in domestic consumption, selling 10.9Mt in the domestic markets from July - December 2014 against 9.9Mt during same period of 2013, a 10.5% increase. The southern plants witnessed 2.4% growth in domestic dispatches, supplying 2.10Mt of cement to local markets from July - December 2014, compared to 2.05Mt during the same period of 2013.

Vietnam: Cement sales in Vietnam jumped by 16% year-on-year to 64.46Mt in the first 11 months of 2014, fulfilling the government's full-year target, according to its own data. Of the sum 46.16Mt were sold to the domestic market, an 8% year-on-year rise and meeting 94% of the year's plan. 18.30Mt were exports, a year-on-year rise of 43%, 22% higher than the year's target.

In November 2014, Vietnam's cement sales rose by 1% year-on-year to 6.2Mt, including 4.52Mt of domestic sales, up by 3% month-on-month and 25% year-on-year and cement exports dropped by 50% month-on-month and by 35% year-on-year to 1.5Mt.

The country is expected to put into operation four cement plants including Cong Thanh, Dong Lam, Thach My and Trung Son with a combined capacity of 7.5Mt in 2014, raising the country's total

Vietnam: Vietnam could earn as much as US$1bn via the export of 20-21Mt of cement and clinker in 2014, 15% more in value terms compared to 2013, according to the Vietnam Cement Association. Preliminary statistics from the Customs General Department showed that the shipment of cement and clinker increased in both volume and value in January-October, reaching nearly 18Mt over 10 months.

Tran Viet Thang, Director General of the Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem), which holds 34% the Vietnamese cement sector's output, said that Vicem exported about 1.8Mt of cement and clinker in the first three quarters of 2014 and plans to sell a further 1Mt in the final three months of the year.

Iran: Iran has exported over 11.79Mt of cement and clinker during the first seven months of the current Iranian fiscal year, a period spanning 21 March 2014 to 22 October 2014. The Secretary of Iran's Cement Industry Employers Association, Abdolreza Sheikhan said that 8.1Mt of cement and 3.6Mt of clinker was exported.

Sheikhan added that around 32.5Mt of the country's total cement output was distributed in domestic markets during the first six months of the current fiscal year. Iran produced 41.6Mt of cement in the first seven months of the Iranian fiscal year. It exported over 20Mt of cement during the previous fiscal year.

Iran's Industry, Mines and Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh has forecast that the country's cement export will hit 120Mt/yr by 2025.