Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW767 / 08 July 2026

Headlines


Market data on the cement sector in Pakistan was released this week. It is looking promising with combined despatches up. Let’s dig a little deeper.

Overall despatches grew by 7% year-on-year to 50.1Mt in the 2026 financial year (FY2026) from 46.2Mt in the previous period, according to data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Note that in Pakistan the financial year runs from July to June. Local sales drove the trend with a rise of 9.5% to 41.5Mt. However, exports fell slightly to 9Mt. An APCMA spokesperson said that demand for cement both locally and in export markets was expected to remain strong in the coming months. They added that decreasing geopolitical tensions at that time could help to reduce the sector’s energy prices. Arif Habib’s view backed that of the APCMA. It added that “...budgetary relief for the construction sector and any further decline in interest rates are expected to support demand.”

Graph 1: Local and export cement despatches in Pakistan, 2018 - 2026 financial years. Source: All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association.

Graph 1: Local and export cement despatches in Pakistan, 2018 - 2026 financial years. Source: All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association.

Graph 1 above shows the wider picture and the evolving dynamic between domestic and export despatches. Exports have typically grown as local sales decline. Combined despatches in FY2026 were 50.5Mt, the third highest figure since FY2018. Within the country the cement plants in the north of the country tend to supply the domestic market and the ones in the south split their output between local and export markets. Exports notably dipped significantly in the FY2022 due to high energy prices making them less competitive. They have since recovered but they did soften slightly in FY2026. Exports fell in the north due to the closure of the border with Afghanistan in late 2025 due to hostilities between the two countries, according to AKD Research. Exports rose in the south of Pakistan due to growing demand from Africa but it wasn’t enough to bring up the total.

It is within this environment that local media reminded its audience this week that the Special Investment Facilitation Council has been helping cement companies in the country build new capacity. Back in April 2026 the council approved projects with a US$700m investment and also helped to resolve regulatory delays. Companies that received approvals were Flying Cement, Lucky Cement, Bhutta Cement, Asian Precious Minerals, Orient Cement, Dandot Cement and Maple Cement. Lucky Cement announced this week that it had completed and commissioned a process optimisation and capacity enlargement project at its Karachi plant. The production capacity at the unit has now increased by 300,000t/yr to 5.35Mt/yr. In its note to the market it highlighted that the work was expected to reduce fuel consumption per tonne of cement produced. The company now has a total production capacity of 15.6Mt/yr and it says it is the largest producer in Pakistan. Lucky Cement’s ambitions are not restricted to Pakistan. It was also reported this week that the company had met with the chair of the Privatisation and Investment Board in Libya. It is considering building a 2.5Mt/yr cement plant in Khoms, Libya. If the project is realised it will join the group’s other overseas plants in Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Financial results in FY2026 for the main cement producers are not due until August 2026. Nine-month data to March 2026 showed particular sales revenue gains for Power Cement and Lucky Cement. Both companies attributed this to rising sales volumes, particularly domestically. Many of the other large producers also reported this although the local-export sales mix affected overall revenue in some cases.

Overall the situation is looking good for cement in Pakistan at the moment. Local demand is up and the export market is buoyant with the exception of Afghanistan. Recent government policy looks set to further stimulate domestic sales in the near future. One major risk is the cost of energy related to the Iran war. At the time of writing, the April 2026 ceasefire between the US and Iran has been declared “over” by President Trump.


Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement has appointed Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Khereiji as its chair following an Ordinary General Assembly held in mid-June 2026. Riyad bin Abdulrahman Aba Al-Khail has also been appointed as vice-chair. The term for both roles is for four years, until June 2030.


Pakistan: Power Cement has appointed Naveed Afzal as its Chief Financial Officer.

Afzal previously worked as Advisor - Strategy & Operational Excellence for Power Cement in 2025. Before this he worked in a variety of roles for power company K-Electric from 2015 to 2025, eventually becoming Head of Business Finance. He has also worked for Pakistan International Airlines. Afzal is a chartered accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.


India: KJS Cement has appointed Jalaj Srivastava as Chief Sales & Marketing Officer.

Srivastava has worked in the cement sector since the early 1990s starting at Modi Cement. He later worked for Prism Cement from 1997 to 2016 eventually becoming Assistant Vice President (Sales & Marketing). He was later worked as Vice President ( Sales & Marketing) at UltraTech Cement from 2019 to 2025. He has also worked for Shree Cement and Century Textiles and Industries. Srivastava holds undergraduate degrees in science and law. He also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) qualification from Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University in Jaunpur.


Venezuela: In the wake of the earthquakes that hit Venezuela on 24 June 2026, the cement industry has warned that the cement produced in the country is not suitable for rebuilding homes, according to El Nacional newspaper. Faced with a proposed reconstruction plan designed by the government, citizens of La Guaira are urging the authorities to use ‘high-quality materials’ to ensure safe structures and prevent another disaster. Orlando Chirinos, president of the United Federation of Cement Workers of Venezuela, explained that warnings were issued eight years ago about the risks of building with CPCA 1 blended cement, saying that it’s a cement for ‘refractory work, plastering, and flooring,’ and is not suitable for large-scale construction.

“A reconstruction phase is coming, and we Venezuelans must build with quality materials, with quality cement; the necessary corrective measures must be taken to resume production of Type 1 cement,” he said.

Only 1Mt/yr of cement is produced from a production capacity of 9Mt/yr. Data provided by Chirinos reveals that the country’s cement processing plants operate intermittently. The Lara plant in Barquisimeto is only operating with one of its three installed kilns, for example. Chirinos said that this situation is replicated at all cement plants across the country, leading to a drop in production and a final product that does not meet quality standards. Many of the hundreds of buildings that collapsed in regions such as La Guaira were built by the government through the Great Venezuela Housing Mission.


Burkina Faso: The government has signed four financing agreements totalling US$148m for industrial and mining projects deemed ‘strategic.’ The investments are funded through the Diaspora Bond and are expected to stimulate domestic production and support local businesses. An initial agreement worth US$26m was signed with Cim-Sahel to strengthen national cement production capacity and reduce dependence on imports. On 2 July 2026, the government established Cim-Sahel, a 60% state-owned public-private partnership to guarantee the availability of cement throughout the country.


Philippines: Republic Cement entered into a partnership on 3 July 2026 with PETValue Philippines for a zero waste to landfill initiative. PETValue is a joint venture between Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines and Indorama Ventures. It is a food-grade PET recycling facility, which turns post-consumer PET bottles into recycled PET resin used to manufacture new bottles. Under the partnership, plastic components separated during the recycling process are recovered by ecoloop, Republic Cement’s resource recovery arm, and co-processed as alternative fuel in the cement kiln. Republic Cement has reportedly diverted more than 1.5Mt of residual plastic waste from landfills through such initiatives.


Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement increased its revenue by 43% year-on-year to US$63m after selling 978,950t of cement in the first half of 2026, up by 15% from 850,424t a year earlier. It said that higher average selling prices, supported by increased sales volumes and positive currency exchange movement, helped bring about the result. The company increased its market share to 15%. It expects full-year sales of around 1.95Mt, below 2025 levels, reflecting reduced clinker inventories. The company said that exports and imports ‘held steady’ at 2025 levels. Its project to expand production capacity to 2.5Mt is apparently progressing according to schedule, with final commissioning expected in mid-2027.


Russia: Heidelberg Materials said that it plans to expand in Russia after previously saying that it had halted investments in the country due to the war in Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. The company is planning a US$200m expansion of its plant near St. Petersburg. Heidelberg said in a statement “It is a self-financed project of the local subsidiary related to environmental and CO₂ constraints. It does not constitute an investment by Heidelberg Materials.” There is reportedly no evidence that the company broke any laws or sanctions, and it previously said that it operates a ‘pure local business in Russia, on a limited scale.’

It operates three cement plants in Russia with a total capacity of 4.7Mt/yr.


US: Demolition has started at the Permanente cement plant near Cupertino, a site that repeatedly ‘ran afoul’ of environmental regulations before it officially closed three years ago, according to Mountain View Voice news. Heidelberg Materials North America, owner of the cement plant through its subsidiary Lehigh Southwest Cement, recently announced that it secured the necessary permits and a contractor to move forward with demolition. The plan is to remove approximately 40 structures on a 50-hectare site, according to a press release. This is only a small portion of the larger 1416-hectare site that includes Permanente quarry, also owned by Heidelberg Materials.

“Since we formally announced the permanent closure of the cement kiln in 2022, we have prioritised listening to residents, businesses and other local stakeholders so we could gather input and feedback on how the site could provide value to the community in the long-term,” Heidelberg Materials executive David Perkins said. “The commencement of demolition marks a significant step forward in this process.”

In the past 15 years, there have been multiple lawsuits filed against the quarry for discharging toxic metals and violating water, air and noise pollution standards, including from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the state of California. Santa Clara County also found a variety of violations at the cement plant and issued more than 2000 citations from 2012 to 2021. In 2021, a proposal to mine the Permanente Ridge was reportedly ‘the final straw’, according to Joe Simitian, who sat on the county Board of Supervisors. He said that it would have eliminated ‘something like 8 hectares of undisturbed space,’ protected by a nearly 50 year old agreement. In 2020, the plant’s operations were paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic, before permanently closing in 2023 amid continued county pressure. Excavation at the quarry was also halted that same year. In an effort to rehabilitate the area, county officials broke ground on the Permanente Creek Restoration Project in mid-2025 to remove toxic mine waste and restore miles of watershed in Cupertino.

“The community is very excited about moving forward with the demolition, the reclamation and restoration of the land there,” supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga said. “Heidelberg has been very, very communicative and collaborative with the community, letting us know what they’re doing and taking a lot of input.”

The plan to restore the entire 1416-hectare area to its natural habitat will not happen anytime soon, however. The process is expected to take 40 years to complete. “It took us more than 100 years to get to this point,” Simitian said. “It’s going to take a little while to restore and reclaim the site. That’s the hard truth.”


Libya: Libya’s Privatisation and Investment Board (PIB) reported that its chair, Abdelaziz Al-Shawish, held a meeting with representatives of Lucky Cement to discuss the possibility of establishing a cement plant in the coastal city of Khoms. The PIB said that this comes as part of its efforts to attract investments and strengthen the industrial sector in Libya. The PIB said that the plant would have a production capacity of 2.5Mt/yr, which would contribute to meeting the local market's cement needs, supporting development and reconstruction programmes, and promoting industrial development in the country.

The two parties discussed the technical and logistical aspects of the project, as well as mechanisms for joint cooperation, in preparation for completing the necessary studies and procedures to move forward with the project's implementation.


Austria: The domestic cement market has declined by around 25% over the past three to four years since the end of Austria’s recent construction boom, according to the Association of Austrian Cement Producers (VÖZ). Nevertheless, cement plants produced 4.53Mt/yr of cement in 2025 - a 0.4% year-on-year increase from 2024. Although CO2 emissions per tonne of cement fell below 470kg for the first time, the sector’s total CO2 emissions rose by 2.6% to 2.14Mt.

Sebastian Spaun, managing director of the Association of Austrian Cement Producers (VÖZ), said "The fact that Austrian plants have nevertheless produced slightly more cement recently is solely due to additional exports. However, this strategy cannot be sustained in the long term."

The fact that emissions rose more sharply than cement production itself is attributed to higher clinker production. At 467kg of CO2 per tonne of cement, domestic production is among the lowest-emission in the world, according to the VÖZ. However, the industry has to compete with companies whose products are subject to much less stringent regulations.

"The Austrian cement industry has done its homework and has been investing hundreds of millions of euros for years in decarbonisation, the circular economy and innovative CO2 capture technologies," said Spaun. "Local waste cycles now provide the energy for clinker production, and fossil fuels have been phased out of cement plants by around 90%."

The association puts the thermal substitution rate at 88.8%. Fossil fuels are largely being replaced by non-recyclable waste materials. In addition, alternative raw materials are used in clinker and cement production. 25% of the raw materials used come from recycled construction waste from old buildings. In total, the domestic cement industry utilises around 550kg of substitute materials per tonne of cement produced.

Spaun added “Without CO2 storage, pipelines and affordable industrial electricity, zero emissions by 2040 will remain a pipe dream."


Pakistan: Cement dispatches rose by 7% year-on-year to 50.5Mt in the 2025 – 2026 financial year, that ended on 30 June 2026, from 47.1Mt previously. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) reports that domestic sales increased by 9.5% to 41.5Mt from 37.9Mt, according to the Pakistan Today newspaper. Exports fell by 2% to 9Mt from 9.2Mt.

By region, cement plants in the north of the country saw local dispatches grow by 10.8% to 34.7Mt but exports dropped by 53.9% to 0.8Mt. Those in south reported a boost in local dispatches by 3.2% to 6.8Mt and exports rose by 9.4% to 8.2Mt.

An APCMA spokesperson said that cement demand was expected to remain strong in domestic and international markets in the months ahead. They added that high fuel and energy costs continue to negatively affect the cement sector.


Bolivia: Peru-based Grupo Gloria reportedly paid former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero €200,000 for lobbying the government in Bolivia on its behalf for compensation relating to the nationalisation of Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (FANCESA). The Demócrata online newspaper cites a report it has seen issued by the Central Unit for Economic and Fiscal Crime (EDEF) in Spain. Three payments totalling €200,000 were made in 2024 and 2025 to the former politician. The UDEF document alleges that the lobbying used “commercial contracts that it considers fictitious to justify payments.” In response the Bolivian Senate has approved the creation of a special investigative commission to explore the issue.

The investigators believe that the transfers were made to Zapatero in connection to a legal battle between Grupo Gloria’s cement subsidiary Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (SOBOCE) and the Bolivian state-run company FANCESA. SOBOCE previously owned a minority stake in FANCESA until its nationalising in 2010. It has sought compensation since then. SOBOCE was later acquired by Grupo Gloria in 2014. However, in late June 2026 the Supreme Court of Bolivia dismissed an appeal by SOBOCE and upheld a judgement requiring it to pay around €94m to FANCESA following an unfair competition case.


Morocco: Cement deliveries fell by 1.3% year-on-year to 6.8Mt in the first half of 2026. The decline to May 2025 was greater, June 2026 saw a considerable boost in sales, according to L'Economiste newspaper. The rebound in construction activity have been attributed to large-scale projects requiring substantial one-off deliveries of construction materials, including cement. Bagged cement supply linked to the self-construction sector has fallen so far in 2026, but bulk orders for bigger projects has increased in response to infrastructure projects linked to the government’s latest budget. The trend is anticipated to continue into the second half of 2026.


Namibia: The government has granted permission for Cheetah Cement to buy Ohorongo Cement. Industries, mines and energy minister Modestus Amutse said he had overruled a decision by the Namibian Competition Commission to block the purchase after an appeal by China-owned Whale Rock, the owner of Cheetah Cement, according to the Namibian newspaper. The decision has also prompted to Cheetah Cement to pause plans to lay off 87 workers. It had previously warned that the jobs were at risk due to financial losses arising from import restrictions on cement exports to Botswana and Zimbabwe, and a poor demand domestically.

Whale Rock attempted to buy Schwenk Namibia, the owner of Ohorongo Cement, in February 2025. However, the competition commission blocked the deal warning of reduced competition locally and a threat to jobs. Cheetah Cement spokesperson Tabby Moyo said that both Cheetah Cement and Ohorongo Cement have been operating at 50% production capacity under the current market conditions. He added that there should now be no job losses, although workers will need to relocate from the Otjiwarongo cement plant to the Otavi one. Following the government announcement it has been recommended that both Whale Rock Cement and Schwenk Namibia should increase local ownership to at least 40%.


France: Hoffman Green Materials sold nearly 40,000t of cement in the first half of 2026. This was more than the double the volume it sold in the first half of 2025. The company has also recorded the 1000th production order milestone for its H2 vertical plant and signed nine commercial and industrial partnerships so far in 2026. In June 2026 the company completed a private placement of around €5m. This will be used to ramp-up production volumes, improve cost optimisation, fund the initial stages of the new H3 production site project and continue research and development efforts. The H3 site is scheduled to come online in 2029 in the Rhône-Alpes region.

Julien Blanchard and David Hoffman, the co-founders of Hoffman Green Materials Technologies, said “…we are demonstrating that our 0% clinker cements meet the expectations of a growing number of major players in the construction industry.”


Australia: First Graphene (FGR) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with The Sixth Element (Changzhou) Material Technology for the latter company to be its key distributor in China for First Graphene's PureGRAPH CEM additive product. The agreement allows exclusivity for Sixth Element, subject to annual purchase targets being achieved, and will target the cement and concrete sector.

The MOU also includes provisions upon sale of 200t of FGR's product to negotiate a joint venture or licencing agreement to manufacture the additive at a dedicated manufacturing site in China. Once 500t of PureGRAPH CEM is sold in China, a joint venture or licencing agreement will commence, enabling the product line manufactured in China to be distributed locally. There is also opportunity expand this arrangement to authorise Sixth Element to sell the additive globally.

First Graphene Managing Director and CEO, Michael Bell, said "The MOU with Sixth Element represents the largest commercial growth opportunity in FGR's global strategy, as we prepare for entry to the world's biggest cement and concrete industry in the world.”


Australia: A train carrying cement has derailed close to Boral’s New Berrima cement plant on 4 July 2026. Multiple train cars came off the rails in the incident, according to the Illawarra Mercury newspaper. A spokesperson for Boral confirmed the accident took place on a service operated by the company's rail service partner with its equipment. No injuries have been reported and the train line was reopened on 5 July 2026.


Colombia: The Financial Superintendence of Colombia has authorised a proposed merger between Cementos Argos and Concretos Argos. The company explained that both entities carry out complementary activities and that the integration aims to move toward a ‘simpler, more agile, and more efficient’ corporate structure without disrupting operational continuity. Cementos Argos will act as the absorbing company in the transaction, while Concretos Argos will be the absorbed entity, given that the former is the sole shareholder of the latter.

The process had already been approved by the competent bodies of both companies on 17 March 2026. It received the backing of the General Assembly of Ordinary Bondholders for Cementos Argos’ outstanding issuances on 15 April 2026, prior to obtaining final authorisation from the Financial Superintendence on 30 June 2026.


Zimbabwe: South Africa-based PPC’s sale of a property in Arlington, near Harare, has fallen through after the prospective buyer failed to pay $30m by the agreed deadline of 30 June 2026. This frustrates the producer’s plans to divest its non-core assets. PPC was attempting to sell the properly to Transvaal Africa through its 88% subsidiary PPC Zimbabwe.

The deal previously showed ‘signs of strain’ in February 2026, when PPC told shareholders it had agreed with the buyer to push back the deadline to the end of June 2026 as ‘administrative matters had delayed the meeting of certain milestones.’

PPC Zimbabwe regained ownership of the Arlington property in December 2024, following its seizure by the Zimbabwean government in 2010.


Burkina Faso: The government has established Cim-Sahel, a 60% state-owned private-public partnership endowed with capital of US$9m. According to Trade Minister Serge Gnaniodem Poda, the company will guarantee the availability of cement throughout the country, curb speculation by enforcing reasonable prices and support the rapid pace of public and private infrastructure projects.


Indonesia/Germany: Heidelberg Materials is facing local protests against a planned cement plant and limestone quarry in Central Java. Locals say that the company failed to properly assess and mitigate the potential harms of its plans in the Kendeng Mountains. They say the project may damage a rare karst ecosystem and harm the livelihoods of Indigenous people in the area. An official complaint to the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control against Heidelberg Materials and Indocement is Indonesia's first to be filed under Germany's new supply chain law, which is designed to ensure that human rights are respected throughout the supply chains of German companies.

“If the project is implemented, we face an ecological catastrophe, impoverishment and violations of our human rights,” said Bambang Sutikyo, one of the complainants.

Heidelberg Materials said that affected communities had had the opportunity to voice concerns to the company's local subsidiary PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa during the project's permitting process and that feedback was reflected in the project planning. She added that “No decision on the implementation of the project has been taken.”


India: 1200 protestors, including workers, residents, social activists and trade union members, marched to the West Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner’s office in Chaibasa, Jharkhand, on 1 July 2026 to demand government action against the closure of ACC’s cement plant at Jhinkpani. The plant is slated to close its gates for the final time on 16 August 2026. The company has cited depletion of limestone reserves, rising clinker production costs and the ‘ageing, inefficient’ state of the the plant as causing it to become uneconomic to operate.

The Jhinkpani plant has been gradually winding down operations over the past few months. Cement production was suspended on 1 April 2026, after clinker supplies from the company’s Bargarh and Sindri units ended on 31 March 2026. Production halted completely on 3 May 2026, when the plant’s 15MW captive power plant also shut down.

“The closure of the cement plant will spell doom for Chaibasa, which has largely depended on its successful operation,” said local social worker Ramesh Balmuchu. An employee, Birbal Gope, said the shutdown will directly impact nearly 1500 workers, including 74 permanent staff. He estimated that 50,000 people depend directly or indirectly on the plant for livelihood.

Workers and residents announced plans for a march to the Jharkhand state government building in Ranchi in August 2026 in a further appeal to prevent the plant’s closure.


Italy: Federbeton, Italy’s cement association, has presented proposals to the government at a Senate hearing during the review of a bill that will enable the development of CO2 capture, transport, utilisation and storage. The association welcomed the start of the review process for a measure that establishes, for the first time, a comprehensive regulatory framework to develop carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technology in Italy, which is seen as essential to the decarbonisation of the cement sector.

Developing a national CCUS supply chain is a prerequisite to decarbonise our sector," said Federbeton president Stefano Gallini. "The bill could mark a decisive step forward, provided the implementation framework ensures regulatory certainty, coordinated procedures and defined permitting timelines. Only then will it be possible to attract the massive investments required for the transition, while maintaining the competitiveness of a supply chain that is strategic for the country."

According to the latest decarbonisation strategy for the cement sector, the estimated total cost for the entire Italian cement industry's transition is in the region of €4.9 – 5.3bn by 2050. It is recommended that these investments be accompanied by the development of adequate infrastructure for CO2 transport and storage, following the hub model already being developed in various European countries. In Italy, a hub project has been launched in Ravenna.

Federbeton has highlighted several key enabling factors for the development of the CCUS value chain in Italy. These include streamlining of certain permitting processes, including financial support mechanisms commensurate with the required investments, local community engagement, market development for captured CO2 and the adaptation of the electricity grid to meet the plants' increased energy needs.


UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has called on the government to favour ‘British-made’ materials, including cement, in procurement. The cement industry is currently excluded from the Energy Intensive Industries (EII) Compensation Scheme and may lose competitiveness against imports due inadequate policy responses to the incoming EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), according to the association. Energy costs are reportedly ‘sky high,’ while sustainability policies reportedly cost the sector an extra €95.9m in 2025, up by 82% decade-on-decade from 2015 levels.

British cement production reduced its CO₂ emissions by 63% between 1990 and 2025, and could achieve a further 75% reduction through the deployment of current carbon capture projects up to 2035, according to the MPA. UK cement imports from outside the EU reached a 10-year high in March 2026, following a diversion of former EU import streams to the UK in order to avoid CBAM charges.


India: Italy-based Bedeschi and Chanderpur Group have signed a partnership agreement for the supply of bulk material handling equipment. The partners will offer apron and surface feeders, belt and pipe conveyor systems, crushers and sizers, ship loaders and unloaders, stacker reclaimers and wagon tipplers for use in various sectors, including the cement industry.

In a post to LinkedIn, Chanderpur Group acknowledged the combined advanced technology expertise, local manufacturing capacity and lifecycle support capabilities of the partners.


India: A new report from market analyst ICRA forecasts cement volume growth of 6 – 7% in India’s 2027 financial year (FY2027), the 12-month period to 31 March 2027. This is less rapid growth than was seen in FY2026, when cement production volumes rose by 8.6% year-on-year on the back of higher demand from the housing and infrastructure sectors. ICRA said that in the first two months of FY2027, production volumes had increased by 8.3% year-on-year to approximately 85Mt.

Net sales prices rose by 7% in FY2026 and are likely to further increase by around 3 – 5% in FY2027. Input costs remained largely stable in FY2026, but fuel and freight costs, which are linked to global crude oil prices, have been trending upward and could further increase due to volatility depending on geopolitical developments in the Middle East, potentially exerting pressure on the sector's cost structure.

ICRA also reported that the country’s installed capacity rose by around 43 Mt/yr in FY2026, with a further add 30 – 34Mt/yr due to be commissioned in FY2027. Capacity utilisation is expected to remain at 70 – 71%, broadly in line with levels seen in FY2026.


Togo: Cimtogo, the Togo-based subsidiary of the Heidelberg Materials, has launched Ecocim, an ‘environmentally-friendly cement’ that replaces its Super Rapide product while boasting a reduced CO2 footprint. The low-clinker blend emits 467kg of CO2/t, down by 4% from 485kg/t, with similar strength and technical performance. The company says that this reduction will represent a significant reduction in emissions if the product is used at scale.

The Ecocim product is also the first in Togo to meet the country’s new TGN 002 standard. "Ecocim embodies Cimtogo's commitment to supporting the evolution of the construction sector and promoting more responsible solutions," explained Cimtogo’s managing director Ebenezer Anim Somuah.


Venezuela: Mexico-based Cemex has joined humanitarian relief efforts following the double earthquake that recently struck several cities along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast by forming an extraordinary partnership with the airline Viva Aerobus.

The two companies joined forces to send an aircraft to Caracas from Felipe Ángeles International Airport. The plane transported 140 rescue workers from 16 specialised organisations, such as the Rotary Brigade and an urban search and rescue team, as well as nine canine search and rescue teams, in addition to medical supplies, medications, essential items, and technical equipment for urban search and rescue operations.

Notable items included thermal imaging cameras, explosimeters and gas detectors, drones, radio and communication equipment, generators and hydraulic rescue equipment. The shipment also included floodlights, tents, extension cords, shovels and other supplies.