Afghanistan: Ghori Cement has restarted production at its Baghlan plants near Pul-e-Khumr in Baghlan province after a stoppage of four months. Production halted at the units due to the high price of coal, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. The government is now supplying coal to the plants at a pre-agreed price. Other local news sources report that production has increased to 520t/day from 350t/day previously, following work on a variety of technical issues.

Burundi: The government is preparing to allow imports of cement into the country for a designated period in an effort to tackle rising prices. The cabinet announced the plan following a difference being recorded between reference prices and the actual market price, according to the East African newspaper. The measures will also allow for sugar imports. Local cement producer Burundi Cement Company (BUCECO) has called for the government to start a price review first before relaxing import rules. It wants to increase its prices due to growing raw material and transport costs.

India: Visaka Industries plans to spend US$15m towards building a new fibre cement board plant in the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. The unit will be the company’s fifth cement board plant and the first in the state, according to the Press Trust of India. The project will include solar power generation via roof panels.

China: West China Cement’s preliminary results indicate a profit drop of 40 – 45% year-on-year in the first half of 2022 to US$85.6 – 93.4m from US$156m. The group said that its finance costs rose by US$10.8m, while its foreign exchange gains were just US$4.05m in the half, compared to US$51.2m in the first half of 2021.