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Pakistan records strong cement sales growth in mid-2016 despite Afghan export drop 07 September 2016
Pakistan: Total cement despatches in Pakistand during the first two months of the current fiscal year clocked up at 4.9Mt, a 14% increase from 4.3Mt recorded in same period of 2015-16. However, according to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), overall export despatches have decreased: Exports in July-August were down almost 1% on a year-on-year basis to 1.022Mt. Overall domestic sales in August rose 21% to 3.02Mt from 2.5Mt in August 2015. Cement sales in the north zone were 2.495Mt in August, up 22.6% from a year ago. In the south zone sales recorded an increase of 13.2% at 0.532Mt from the same month of 2015.
Exports to Afghanistan dropped 12% to 346,928t in July-August on an annual basis, APCMA data shows. Exports by sea suffered even more. As opposed to 537,120t exported during the first two months of the preceding fiscal year, exports by sea in July-August 2016 were 407,120t, showing 24% decline on an annual basis.
However, increased exports to India made up for these shortfalls to some extent. Exports to India during the first two months of the current fiscal year grew 167% year on year to 268,230t.
A spokesman for the APCMA said the industry has been doubling its production capacity every seven to eight years. The buoyancy in the sector on the back of healthy domestic consumption during the last 20 months has encouraged the industry players to go for further capacity expansion. He said growth in the sector during the first two months of the fiscal year was in spite of Eid holidays. Growth of domestic consumption in August was also 'impressive,' as consistent rains failed to hurt construction activities, he added. He said upcoming projects along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will further boost cement consumption.
The industry has yet to realise its export potential due to the lack of support from the government. The loss of the Afghanistan market is a matter of concern for the industry, which has been marginalised there because of subsidised Iranian exports.
MD of Malabar Cements denied bail over irregularities but receives diagnosis and treatment 07 September 2016
India: Kerala Inquiry Commissioner and Special Vigilance Judge P. Jayachandran has denied bail to K. Padmakumar, managing director of Malabar Cements Limited, who was arrested in Palakkad on Monday 5 September by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on charges of corruption and irregularity. Mr. Padmakumar is accused of irregularities in fixing dealers for the products of the cement company located at Walayar in Palakkad.
The judge also remanded him in judicial custody till Friday 9 September on the condition that he must be subjected to expert treatment at Government Medical College Hospital here for acute diabetes, after he was diagnosed with acute diabetes during medical examination at the district hospital. The doctors there also recommended his admission to the medical college hospital for specialised treatment and observed that he was not physically fit for custodial interrogation, at least for the time being.
In his bail plea, Mr. Padmakumar had contended that whatever actions he had taken as the managing director of the company were in accordance with collective decision and approval of the director board.
Dangote attracted to Ethiopia with alleged cheap electricity deal 07 September 2016
Ethiopia: The former governor of Nigeria's central bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has claimed that it was a cheap electricity deal that attracted Dangote to set up a cement plant in Ethiopia and that the cement market in East Africa will be impacted as the Adaberga wereda-based plant starts exporting cement costing almost 40% less than regional manufacturers, according to AFK Insider.
To attract Dangote to the East African country, the government offered to supply the company with electricity at a discounted rate of US$0.03/kWh, in exchange for the company building a plant in Ethiopia. This enabled Dangote Cement to cut the cost of producing a ton of cement by 60%, according to Sanusi in an opinion piece published by Premium Times. For a cement manufacturer, that is all the incentive that you need, Sanusi said, adding that this helped the construction industry in Ethiopia to boom.
The low-cost cement is now being exported to neighbouring countries like Kenya, where retail prices have remained static even as competition increased in the sector over the last decade. This is likely to shake up the regional cement market and make it affordable for developers to build more properties. Dangote Cement, one of the largest manufacturer of the product in Africa, said in a statement last week that it had started exporting to Kenya at US$74/t, more than 40% cheaper than what local manufacturer sell their brands for.
Dangote also started selling cement in Tanzania in 2016 after completing its factory in Mtwara about 400km from Dar es Salaam.
Ethiopia, one of the beneficiaries of the Power Africa program, an initiative of US President Barack Obama, has the highest electricity generating potential in East Africa due to its vast number of rivers and hilly terrain. It has invested billions of dollars to build several hydro-electric power plants including what will be Africa's largest dam, the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam.
Original story from AFK Insider, http://afkinsider.com/132330/ethiopias-cheap-electricity-helps-dangote-shake-up-east-africas-cement-market/
Karel Okleshtek appointed new general director of Mordovcement
Written by Global Cement staff
07 September 2016
Russia: Karel Okleshtek has been appointed the new general director of the Mordovcement plant (included in Eurocement Group). Previously, he headed a plant of the international group HeidelbergCement.
Ireland's Ecocem invests Euro30m in new slag grinding capacity in Dunkirk, France in JV with ArcelorMittal 06 September 2016
France/Ireland: According to the Irish Independent newspaper, Irish cement company Ecocem has invested Euro30m into a new production facility in Dunkirk in the north of France as part of joint venture with the world's largest steel company. The investment is split 30% to 70% in favour of Ecocem and will increase the Irish firm's capacity from 1.4Mt of high performance, low carbon cement to around 2Mt. Ecocem said the main target markets for the plant will be the north of France and the UK.
ArcelorMittal, the company that is investing with Ecocem, is the world's largest steel firm. The investment is a strategic partnership as Ecocem uses a by-product of the manufacture of iron and steel - Granulated blast furnace slag - to make cement.
The news follows recent builds by the company with the Peel Ports Group. The pair built an import terminal in Runcorn on the Manchester Ship Canal and will look to add to it with another two, one in Runcorn and another in Sheerness in England.
Ecocem's continued expansion in the UK is a response to growing demand from the market. The firm has experienced an increase in exports from the UK as a result of a bustling cement market and a shortage of the type of cement Ecocem produces.
Speaking at the time of its UK investment, Ecocem managing director Conor O'Riain said the firm is looking long-term at the market. "We've invested in state-of- the-art equipment to demonstrate to the market that we're here for the long term, and I'm delighted to say that the response from the market has been phenomenal. We've made commitments to sell more in the UK in our first year than our total domestic sales in 2016," he said. Prior to entering the British market Ecocem had already received orders for 200,000t of product for its first year and stopped taking any further offers in the short term.
Ecocem is also trying to make its first move into the US. The company is looking to build a Euro45m grinding mill near San Francisco but has some hurdles to its intentions from its planning applications.
The firm has continued to grow its reputation as a low-carbon cement producer and last month the firm picked up the Green Product Award 2016 for its superfine product.