Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW778 / 23 September 2026

Headlines


Cement was among eight products exempted by US President Donald Trump from tariffs on US$20bn/yr-worth of imports from Canada on 15 September 2026. New tariffs on 122 other products offset the exemptions. The other exempted products included sanitary and toilet paper products, fishing rods and bourbon. So, the full gamut… from essentials to ‘lifestyle’ items. This may be a case of Trump’s artful dealings running up against something actually irreplaceable: even after a 5% year-on-year decline, the US still imported 1.04Mt of Canadian cement and clinker in the first four months of 2026, worth US$136m – 14% of total imports of 7.41Mt.1 The overall US reliance on cement imports rose over the same period by 1%.

Whatever his motivation, President Trump is not the first to run into difficulties over an intended cement duty. In Kenya, the government finally upheld a 17.5% duty on clinker imports on 17 September 2026, following sustained complaints since its original implementation in July 2023. The government explained its decision with reference to the country’s increased clinker self-sufficiency. Imports dropped from 148,000t in 2023 to 18,800t/yr in 2025.

Cement producers in South Africa alleged cement dumping in the market in June 2026, leading to an International Trade Administration Commission investigation and the implementation of anti-dumping duties on 21 September 2026. Importers will pay an additional 91% on shipments of cement from neighbouring Mozambique and 37% on shipments from Vietnam.

Vietnam exported 25.5Mt of cement and clinker in the eight-month period up to 31 August 2026, worth US$951m – up by 10% year-on-year both in volume and value. Volumes are 9% below their historical peak of 28Mt in the first eight months of 2021. At that time, Vietnamese cement and clinker exports still primarily served China, but Chinese demand has since fallen significantly.

Meanwhile in Algeria, cement producers have despatched shipments via new channels to Guatemala (22,000t of white cement), Italy and Libya (18,950t combined) and other destinations in Europe (6000t of cement and 7000t of clinker) so far in September 2026. The Mediterranean Sea ports of Annaba, Skikda, Ténès handled the shipments. They may position Algeria to become a competitor to Türkiye in the Atlantic sphere – including the increasingly important West and Southern African markets.

Exporting is not a simple matter, with or without tariffs. In Bolivia, operations at state-owned ECEBOL’s cement plant in landlocked Potosí Department finally proved untenable on 18 September 2026. Among the factors figuring in the decision by the Ministry of the Presidency was the absence of rail infrastructure leading from the plant. The Potosí plant was intended to export its cement to Chile and Peru.

Had the Potosí plant commenced exports, it would have encountered a growing, but already crowded, market in Peru. In August 2026, the country imported 12,400t of finished cement – 7440t (60%) Chilean and 4960t (40%) Vietnamese – up by 16% year-on-year. It imported 110,000t of clinker – 74,800 (68%) from neighbouring Ecuador and 35,200t (32%) from South Korea.

Producers will always seek to fend off new competition from their domestic market. The greatest measure of success, perhaps, lies in achieving irreplaceability in another market overseas – and causing headaches for local rivals, trade commissions and presidents alike.

References

1 United States Geological Survey, 'Cement in April 2026,' 2 September 2026, https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/media/files/mis-202604-cemen.pdf


South Africa: PPC CEO Matias Cardarelli has said that he will focus on improving South African operations and pursuing growth opportunities in Zimbabwe after his contract was extended until 31 March 2030. The company said that Cardarelli had helped ‘turn PPC around’ following his appointment in December 2023.

Specific avenues for growth identified by Cardarelli include the RK3 project in Western Cape, where the company is building a new ‘state-of-the-art’ integrated cement plant, and a ‘plant overhaul’ project with Sinoma in Zimbabwe.

PPC’s board said Cardarelli’s contract extension would secure his leadership through the completion of the Awaken the Giant turnaround strategy and align his tenure with the group’s strategic plan to 2030. “It has always been my intention to see the Awaken the Giant turnaround strategy through to completion,” said Cardarelli.


Nepal: Hopes of a resumption of operations at the shuttered Udayapur Cement Industry plant have risen after the government began the process of appointing a new general manager for the state-owned company on 23 September 2026. Acting general manager Baidyanath Jha expressed confidence that the industry would regain its previous momentum once new leadership was in place.


India: Burnpur Cement concluded its 40th Annual General Meeting on 22 September 2026, which ratified three re-appointments to the board following a management change initiated by UV Asset Reconstruction Company Limited.

Ram Narain was re-appointed as Non-Executive Director liable to retire by rotation, effective 22 September 2026. Rashmi Goyal was re-appointed as Independent Director for a five-year term effective from 9 October 2025. Pawan Pareek was redesignated as a Whole Time Director and CFO for a two-year period effective 18 May 2026.


Taiwan/Ukraine: The board of directors of Taiwan-based TCC Group Holdings has authorised its Dutch subsidiary to acquire a 100% share in Ivano-Frankivskcement (IFCEM), Ukraine's second-largest cement producer, and three related building materials firms for value of €750m. IFCEM holds a 36% market share in Ukraine and has reportedly maintained uninterrupted production and sales throughout Russia's war on Ukraine. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals from Taiwan, Ukraine and other jurisdictions.

TCC said that it is hoping to extend its European cement operations from Southern and Western Europe into Eastern Europe and position itself to participate in Ukraine's long-term reconstruction once the war ends.


Pakistan: Fauji Cement’s board of directors has approved the installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a total capacity of 50MWh, alongside 10MW of solar power capacity, at its Nizampur and Jhang Bahtar plants. The company said that the project would be completed within 10 months from its start date.


UK: Hepworth Clay has achieved independent certification for its HepCem calcined clay, confirming conformity with BS 8615-1:2019 and A1:2026 for use as a pozzolanic material with Portland cement. The certification was awarded by Construction Products Certification (CPC) and applies to calcined clay manufactured at its Crow Edge manufacturing site in Sheffield. Hepworth said that HepCem gives cement and concrete producers a reliable, UK-manufactured alternative to clinker.

CEO Daniel Hannappel said "Achieving certification to BS 8615-1 is a significant milestone for HepCem and gives our customers independent assurance around both the product and the controls behind its manufacture. We have decades of experience working with clay materials and calcination, and HepCem allows us to apply that expertise to one of the most important challenges facing the construction industry: reducing the embodied carbon associated with cement and concrete.

The company said that it is now ready to work with cement and concrete producers that may be looking to evaluate calcined clay within lower-clinker cement formulations.


World: Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda have each signed up to the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate's initiative (ICBCI), a coalition of governments that support lower-carbon blended cement. This means that 12 governments, which also include Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg and New Zealand, now back the ICBCI. Participating countries must commit to prioritising blended cement in public procurement and updating national standards, as national governments are often the most significant users of cement and concrete, helping to drive decarbonisation across the whole sector.


Australia: Cement Australia plans to upgrade and expand its Port Kembla Harbour operations to replace its Glebe Island facility, which is slated for closure by 2030, according to local press. In February 2026, the New South Wales (NSW) government announced that the Glebe Island facility would close by December 2030. The company has been operating a grinding mill at Port Kembla’s outer harbour since 2014. It currently produces 1.4Mt/yr of cement, slag and fly ash, on a 2.5 hectare site.

Cement Australia said in a scoping report tendered to the NSW Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Department that it intends to upgrade the existing Port Kembla terminal and build an import facility to enable it to despatch a further 1.4Mt/yr into the local market. It also plans to build an export facility to ship up to 0.6Mt/yr of cementitious materials to other Australian states. The project will increase the throughput and storage capacity of the Port Kembla facility to 3.4Mt/yr.

“With the announcement of closure of the Glebe Island facility, Cement Australia is proposing to replace its Glebe Island facility with a suitable facility at Port Kembla,” the report said. “The project is necessary to offset the impact of the closure of the Glebe Island facility in December 2030, to ensure no disruption to NSW’s cementitious products supply and to increase the use of supplementary cementitious materials.”

The report said that Cement Australia was strategically located in the heavy industrial heart of Port Kembla, which allowed heavy vehicle access to major arterial roads, access to shipping facilities at the adjacent No 6 jetty in the outer harbour and access to granulated blast furnace slag from the BlueScope Steelworks, as well as limestone and gypsum suppliers in the region.


Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement announced that it has ‘partially accepted and handed over’ a new production line at its Jazan cement plant, thereby marking another step toward completion of its project to replace the plant’s existing production lines. This follows the completion of most construction phases and the start of trial operations for certain production stages, according to the company in its filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul. The new line is expected to be completed and enter production by the end of 2026.

The company had previously announced the latest developments on the project in December 2025, including the completion of most construction phases and the start of trial operations for certain production stages. Sinoma International Engineering was awarded the contract for the project in 2023.


India: Montra Electric and Wonder Cement are deploying 250 Rhino 5538 EV 4x2 Tractor Trailer electric vehicles into regular commercial service on India’s longest freight corridor, according to a press release. Initially, 30 trucks were deployed at Wonder Cement’s Nimbahera plant in July 2026. The fleet now operates on the Nimbahera-Dahej Port and Nimbahera-Tuna Port routes, spanning approximately 1450km across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The trucks run to the same operational schedule as a conventional diesel fleet. The corridor is supported by 13 charging stations, positioned so that the fleet can sustain daily long-distance duty cycles inside the required turnaround times.

The Montra Electric Rhino 5538 EV 4x2 Tractor Trailer is a heavy-duty electric truck with a 55t gross combination weight. It is powered by a 282kWh lithium iron phosphate battery paired with a permanent magnet synchronous motor that delivers 280 kW and 2000Nm of torque, with 18% continuous gradeability and a 6-speed automated manual transmission to handle sustained heavy loads. The vehicle offers a range of 198km (under standard conditions - one sided loaded and one empty) and charges from 20% to 100% in 60 minutes. The company said that the vehicle is supported by >95% assured uptime.

“The deployment of around 250 electric trucks on a 1450km industrial corridor is a significant step toward decarbonising logistics and reducing our environmental footprint beyond manufacturing. In partnership with Montra Electric, we are demonstrating that long-haul freight electrification is both operationally reliable and commercially viable,” said Kiran Patil, managing director of Wonder Cement.


Algeria: The port of Ténès, in the Chlef province, has announced the export of 15,000t of cement and clinker destined for the European market, loaded in three ships. The port's acting director general, Ibrahim Lakhdar, confirmed this information to the APS news agency. The first ship carried 7000t of clinker. The second ship loaded 4500t of bulk cement and the third ship contained 3550t of cement.


Canada: Alberta-based CURA Climate has raised US$10m in financing to support its decarbonised cement pilot plant and path to commercialisation, the company said on 17 September 2026. CURA uses electrochemical technology rather than combustion for calcination, powered by renewable energy, which it says can reduce emissions by up to 85%. The technology produces a concentrated CO₂ stream and a low‑carbon calcium product.

Proceeds from the financing will support the construction of CURA’s 100t/yr pilot plant in Taber, Alberta. The funding will also advance engineering works for CURA’s first 30,000t/yr commercial demonstration facility and support the expansion of its team.

"We've made significant progress proving and scaling CURA's electrochemical technology, and this financing allows us to move into the next phase," co-founder and CEO of CURA, Erin Bobicki, said. "Our focus now is on demonstrating that electrifying the core chemical step in cement production can deliver the performance, scale and economics the industry needs."

In addition to using an electrochemical process, CURA said its method is designed to work with a wide range of calcium-rich feedstocks, including lower purity limestone and industrial waste streams.


UAE: Ras Al-Khaimah Cement Co (RAKCC) has awarded China-based Sinoma a contract to build two cement silos and conveyors, each with a capacity of 1500t/day. The value of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract has not yet been revealed. Sinoma’s scope of work on the contract covers the complete production system, from raw materials handling and clinker preparation to cement grinding, storage and shipping.

In its statement, Sinoma said it had built a waste heat power plant to support RAKCC's cement production line, with the unit operating ‘stably and reliably’ since its commissioning in 2016.

“Over the years, the company has continuously provided the owner (RAKCC) with full-cycle operation and maintenance services, including inspection, maintenance and spare parts, earning the owner's full recognition and high praise for its strong technical capabilities and high-quality service,” Sinoma said.


Ghana: The Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, said that the government will work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether operations at Empire Cement pose health risks to residents in the area. She said a scientific assessment by the EPA would be necessary to establish the extent of any pollution linked to the company’s operations. The Minister made the remarks on Friday 18 September 2026, during a visit to the Empire Cement plant.

The visit came two days after the EPA directed Empire Cement to shut down the plant’s operations with immediate effect. The directive followed investigations launched by the EPA after it received several complaints from residents about alleged air pollution and nuisance associated with the company’s activities. According to the EPA, its investigations found sustained visible particulate and gaseous emissions from the facility into the surrounding environment. The regulator also accused the company of failing to submit its quarterly environmental monitoring returns, contrary to the conditions of its environmental permit. The company was directed to submit its outstanding returns by 1 October 2026, and can only resume operations after installing pollution control systems and obtaining written permission from the EPA.


South Africa: The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) is investigating the alleged dumping of cement from Mozambique and Vietnam after complaints from local cement producers Afrimat, Sephaku Cement and InterCement.

They collectively ‘submitted sufficient evidence and established a prima facie case’ to enable ITAC to reach a conclusion, according to local press. The dumping margin for Mozambique was determined to be 90.51%. ITAC determines the dumping margin by comparing the estimated normal price (in the country) with the export price, with the difference between the two, divided by the export price. The dumping margin for Vietnam was determined to be 37.04%.

Local producer PPC reportedly warned previously that it was ‘extremely concerned’ about the rise in imports from Mozambique. CEO Matias Cardarelli told local press in June 2026 that imports from Mozambique had jumped from 50,000t to 300,000t in 2025, and ‘could grow exponentially’ following the acquisition of AfriSam by West China Cement earlier in 2026.


Canada: McInnis is planning to increase the alternative fuel substitution rate of its cement plant in Port-Daniel Gascons, Quebec, to 20% by 2030, with an aim to eventually replace 70% of fossil fuels (currently petcoke) in the longer term. It will present its project, which will incorporate a high proportion of biogenic forest-derived fuels, to the local community on 18 September 2026.

The project includes the installation of new on-site equipment to process and feed the alternative fuels, including a shredder, a dryer and enclosed storage facilities. These improvements are intended to support the plant's energy transition while incorporating measures to mitigate potential environmental impacts.

"This project represents an important step in reducing our plant's carbon footprint,” said Philippe Marceau, Director of Operations. “We want to advance this energy conversion while remaining responsive to the community and relying on solutions tailored to the realities of the region."


India: In a significant step towards strengthening regional rail connectivity and facilitating faster and more efficient movement of passengers and freight, Indian Railways has approved the construction of a new 38.2km rail line between Mukutban in Adilabad and Gadchandur in Maharashtra at a cost of US$51m. Mukutban and Gadchandur are important industrial and mining centres, serving several cement plants, coal mines and nearby limestone mines.

The new rail line will provide a shorter and more efficient rail route, reducing travel distances, transportation time and associated costs. It will also provide an alternative route to decongest the existing Wardha-Manikgarh section, supporting the smoother movement of freight traffic. As per the Detailed Project Report, the project is expected to support 6.1Mt/yr of freight traffic, which is expected to include coal and coke, cement, sponge iron, scrap metal, iron and steel, fertilisers and grain, among other commodities.


Azerbaijan: The total value of Azerbaijan’s construction materials sector amounted to US$591m in January-August 2026, a rise of 9.0% compared with the same period of 2025. According to the State Statistics Committee, cement production grew by 6.5% over the first eight months, while lime production rose by 78.7%. As of 1 September 2026, companies held 513,500t of marketable clinker and 243,800t of finished cement in warehouses.


Bolivia: A review by the Technical Office for Strengthening Public Enterprises (OFEP) has deemed the ECEBOL cement plant in Potosí unable to operate indefinitely due to ‘severe planning and logistics deficiencies’ in its development under the previous government administration.

OFEP Director Pablo Camacho strongly questioned the administrative and budgetary decisions guiding the execution of this state project in an interview with local press, arguing that the infrastructure was placed in an unviable location for extractive activities and commercial transportation. “The cement plant in Potosí is never going to produce cement,” said Camacho. “It saddens me because I am from Potosí and this is a wound we Potosí residents carry because we were lied to. They built the plant in the least suitable place, 100km from the limestone deposit and forgot to build a road. They left us without gas. The plant will not have gas!” Camacho also stated that there is no adequate railway line to transport the projected cement volumes to the markets in southern Peru and northern Chile, export goals that justified the plant’s construction, but for which the necessary infrastructure was never built.

The report into the Potosí plant is part of a broader institutional diagnosis prepared by OFEP, which identified 20 state-owned companies in what it deemed ‘critical condition.’


India: The Karnataka High Court has overturned a US$50m penalty applied by the state government over limestone mining operations in Kalaburagi district on cement producer ACC, in a major relief to its parent company Adani Group. A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemaleka also directed the Department of Mines and Geology to restore ACC's full access to the Integrated Lease Management System (ILMS) portal.


Kenya: The Trade Ministry has abandoned plans to repeal a controversial 17.5% levy on imported clinker, ending a long-term dispute with the country’s president William Ruto. Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui said the ministry has dropped earlier plans to repeal the levy, citing increased local clinker production.

The government introduced the 17.5% levy on clinker in July 2023, with clinker imports falling from 148,000t in 2023 to just 10,300t in 2024. The ministry had previously petitioned for the removal of the export and investment promotion levy on imported clinker, arguing that relying on heavily protected raw materials skewed industry competition and choked independent manufacturers who lacked clinker capacity. This position had contradicted president Ruto, who, in December 2025, indicated that Kenya had enough capacity to produce its own clinker.


Kenya: National Cement, a subsidiary of Devki Group that produces Simba Cement, is seeking environmental approval to build a 60MW wind farm in Kajiado County, southern Kenya. The proposed wind farm will include 38 turbines, internal access roads, underground and overhead electrical cabling and a substation, according to an environmental impact assessment. The new proposal follows the company’s commissioning of a 15MW power plant alongside its clinker operation between Merrueshi and Mbirikani in 2018 to lower the company’s electricity costs. It will secure power closer to the company’s manufacturing operations while increasing the share of renewable energy in its electricity supply. 


Croatia: The opposition Most party is opposing the Croatian government's plan to burn some of the waste from an illegal dump at Gospić in Nexe’s cement plant in Našice. Speaking at a news conference outside the Nexe company's cement plant in Našice, Most MP Marin Miletić said that the government planned to burn 650t of waste in Slavonia and Istria that it classified as ‘non-hazardous.’ He questioned this classification, stating that the waste had been brought into Croatia illegally.

"Slavonians must not remain silent,” said Miletić. “Slavonians did not produce this waste and there is no justification for them to bear the consequences of the actions of the Italian and Croatian waste mafias and the political decisions that enabled them.”


US: The Rhode Island Marine Trades Association Foundation (RIMTAF) has developed a pilot programme to test the use of decommissioned fibreglass boats in cement production. After removal of fuel, batteries and metal components, around 60t of hulls were cut and shredded at a facility in Johnson, Rhode Island, before being transported to Amrize’s Holly Hill cement plant in South Carolina.

When it enters the kiln, the resin in the hull-derived material acts as a fuel, partially replacing the conventional fuel used at the plant. The glass fibres contribute to the silica content in the clinker. The material was successfully accepted by the cement plant as both a fuel source and a raw material substitute. While 60t is a drop in the ocean, it is an important step towards a value-added reuse system for discarded fibreglass boat hulls, which are estimated to reach 200,000 every year in the US alone.