India: UltraTech Cement’s income rose by 15% year-on-year to US$2.37bn in the six months to the end of September 2018 from US$2.05bn. However, its net profit fell by 24% to US$137m from US$180m. The cement producer blamed its profit drop on mounting energy and logistics costs coupled with local currency depreciation effects. Its cement sales volumes rose by 28% to 31.9Mt from 25Mt.
Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana calls for investigation into Chinese cement imports
Ghana: The Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG) has appealed to the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to investigate the quality of Chinese cement imports. In a letter of the GSA George Dawson-Ahmoah cited two companies in Tema and Ejisu that allegedly sell cement products of ‘questionable’ quality, according to the Business and Financial Times newspaper. He also posited that samples of cement from these companies were ‘alarming’ and that this explained why their prices were ‘ridiculously’ low.
CMAG consists of Ghacem Limited, Diamond Cement group, CIMAF Ghana and CBI Ghana Limited. However, when asked by the local media why Chinese companies supplying Ghana were not part of the association, Dawson-Ahmoah said that they had been invited.
Belarus to export more cement via commodity exchange in 2019
Belarus: 0.2Mt/yr or 10% of Belarus’ cement exports will be available for purchase via the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) from the start of 2019. The country hopes to increase its range of target markets as much as possible by using the commodity exchange, according to the Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA). Local cement companies hope to increase sales via the commodity exchange if it is a success
A test batch of cement was sold via BUCE in September 2018. Six buyers from Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic states took part in the trading session and submitted bids for buying a total of 4000t of Ordinary Portland Cement. The trading session lasted for slightly more than one hour. A Lithuanian company bought 256t of cement as a result.
Government fixes price of cement in Senegal
Senegal: The Ministry of Commerce has fixed a maximum price of cement to protect consumers. The ministry said it had made the decision following exports of a rise of the price of cement in early October 2018, according to the L'Agence de Presse Sénégalaise. The minister said that he invited all cement plant in the country to comply with the new regulations.
