Global Cement News

India: The cement sector’s consumption of fly ash has reportedly collapsed since March 2020. The Financial Express newspaper has reported that the sector previously used over 25% of the ash from coal-fired power plants. The Association of Power Producers says that the suspension of cement production during coronavirus lockdown prevented the more of the country’s coal plants than usual from reaching the required 100% utilisation (for plants over three years old) in the 2021 financial year. In the 2020 financial year, 47 of 101 plants utilised 100% of their fly ash. Other uses beside cement production include brick and tile production, roadbuilding and land reclamation.

Spain: Cemex España, part of Mexico-based Cemex, has launched a new CEM-II grey cement with approximately 20% reduced-CO2 direct emissions as part of its Vertua low-carbon product range. The company says that the product provides early strength like a CEM-I cement. It says that this makes it highly suited to precast concrete and infrastructure applications. Cemex says that it will launch the product in other European markets in 2021.

Cemex is committed to 55% emissions reduction by 2030. It said that prior to this commitment it, “had already achieved a close to 35% emissions reduction by 2020.”

Armenia: The Armenian parliament has agreed to establish a customs duty of Euro22/t for cement and Euro3/t for clinker on imports from Iran and other countries. The government had initially hoped to imposed Euro39/t and Euro14/t on cement and clinker respectively but this was declined by the legislative body, according to the ArmInfo News Agency. Imported cement will also be recognised as licensed. The new bill will come into effect in July 2021.

A previous customs duty of Euro22/t imports of Iranian cement was set up in mid-2019. However, Iranian cement imports were then banned at the start of 2021. Production by local producers grew in 2020 and imports fell.

India: Grasim Industries’ full-year consolidated net sales rose by 2% year-on-year to US$10.5bn in its 2021 financial year from US$10.3bn in the 2020 financial year. The profit attributable to owners of the company was US$591m, down by 3% from US$606m. Cement sales rose by 5% to US$6.15bn from US$5.83bn.

India: Ramco Cements reported consolidated net sales of US$731m in its 2021 financial year, down by 2% year-on-year from US$745m in its 2020 financial year. Cement sales volumes fell by 11% to 9.98Mt from 11.2Mt. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 34% to US$218m from US$162m. The company said that cement markets had shrunk in the south due the coronavirus pandemic but they grew in the east. It added that it was complying with state government mandated public health lockdowns, which were introduced in May 2021, on a regional basis.