Global Cement News

India: Birla Corporation has entered the construction chemicals and additives business by launching three new products. It is promoting Perfect Plus IWP, Perfect Plus SBR Latex and Perfect Plus Wall Putty, according to the Business Standard newspaper. The products will have been released in Uttar Pradesh and further rollout will follow. The initiative is intended to create a new revenue stream for the cement producer.

Nigeria: BUA Group has ordered a 3Mt/yr production line from China’s CBMI for its Kalambaina cement plant in Sokoto State. It follows the commissioning of a 1.5Mt/yr line at the site in mid-2018, according to the This Day newspaper. The company also completed a new line at its Obu plant at Okpella in Edo State in late 2018. BUA Group will have a production capacity of 11Mt/yr once the new project is completed. BUA Group is also in the process of merging with the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN).

Central America: The value of Chinese imports of cement grew by 2% year-on-year to US$77.1m in the first half of 2018 from US$75.6m in the same period in 2017. Nicaragua imported around US$28m, Guatemala US$18m, El Salvador US$12m, Honduras US$7m, Panama US$6m and Costa Rica imported around US$5m, according to CentralAmericaData.

Indonesia: Semen Baturaja’s cement sales volumes rose by 24% year-on-year to 2.17Mt in 2018 from 1.76Mt in 2017. President Director Jobi Triananda Hasjim said that the growth was 5% greater than the industry’s average in 2018, according to the Antara news agency. Data from the Indonesian Cement Association shows that in November 2018 Semen Baturaja had a market share of 54% in South Sumatra, 26% in Lampung,14% in Jambi, 8% in Bengkulu and 5% in Bangka Belitung.

Pakistan: Local cement sales fell by 1.41% year-on-year to 19.6Mt in the first half of the reporting year to December 2018. The decline, the first in nine years, has been blamed in a cut in development spending, according to the News International newspaper. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said that the decline in domestic cement consumption was more pronounced in the northern region where most of the country’s production capacity is based. Cement sales fell by 5.95% to 15.5Mt in the north but they increased by 20.7% to 4.1Mt in the south. Despite this, exports rose by 48% to 3.6Mt, supported by plants in the south.