South Africa: The potential creation of regional production and distribution operations from West China Cement’s (WCC) acquisition of AfriSam - coupled to its earlier acquisitions in southern Africa - could result in preferential trade access to cheap imports at the expense of local producers. This is according to Philippa Rodseth, the executive director of the Manufacturing Circle, South Africa’s association of large manufacturing companies.

Rodseth said that the deal, which was approved by the Competition Commission in December 2025, had serious potential implications for local cement producers, claiming that countries in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) enjoyed preferential trade access with respect to several goods, including cement.

Rodseth said South Africa's cement sector is structurally oversupplied and that the local industry is challenged by weak domestic demand, excess production capacity, and rising electricity and logistics costs. "The creation of a regional production and distribution platform capable of supplying cement into South Africa from neighbouring countries enjoying preferential SACU and SADC trade access has the risk of being exploited."

Matias Cardarelli, CEO of South Africa-based cement producer PPC, said that West China Cement already operates a cement import business to South Africa from its Mozambique operation. "The proposed acquisition raises serious concerns for South African local production, with AfriSam downsizing its production in South Africa and moving production to Mozambique, where West China Cement has significant spare capacity. It will become a distribution platform for Mozambique-produced cement,” said Cardarelli. “In fact, this transaction creates strong incentives to abandon local manufacturing since clearly it is cheaper to produce cement in Mozambique and sell it in South Africa with no tariffs." Cardarelli stressed that PPC would not lower its health and safety or environmental standards in South Africa in order to compete with cheaper imports, reiterating his company’s commitment to high-quality South African-made cement.

Companies in South Africa’s construction sector have long pleaded with government and regulators for tariff measures to protect the local cement sector from the dumping of imports from markets such as Pakistan. In response, International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa commissioner Ayabonga Cawe said that ordinary customs duties on cement imports are bound at zero in line with the country’s obligations under the World Trade Organisation General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Colombia: Grupo Argos said that its subsidiary Cementos Argos increased cement sales volumes by 4% year-on-year to 2.1Mt in the first quarter of 2026. Cementos Argos reported sales of US$318m and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$71m, up by 5% year-on-year. The company said that the beginning of 2026 was marked by a ‘solid performance’ in its construction materials business, and that it continues to make progress in separating Argos Materials, focused on the US market, from Argos Latam. Among its priorities for 2026, the company maintains the goal of reducing its net debt by approximately US$1bn.

Grupo Argos reported consolidated sales of US$715m, down by 7%, while EBITDA fell by 12% to US$189m and net profit declined by 21% to US$51m. It said that its cement and real estate businesses contributed a combined increase of US$18bn in EBITDA.

President of Grupo Argos Juan Esteban Calle said “The first-quarter operating results confirm the quality of our businesses and the strength of a transformation that has left Grupo Argos with a simpler structure, a focused portfolio and assets in sectors essential for development. Our task is to accelerate execution, deepen efficiency, reduce debt, strengthen business profitability and make the portfolio's value more visible to our shareholders.”

Russia: JSC Sibirsky Cement Holding Company (Sibcem), has reported that it produced 0.52Mt of cement in the three months to March 2026, 37.5% less than in the same period of 2025, when it made 0.83Mt/yr.

Production at the Topkinsky Cement plant fell by 47.4% to 0.19Mt, while Iskitimcement saw production fall by 23% to 0.16Mt. Krasnoyarsky Cement saw a fall of 33.3% to 84,200t, Angarsky Cement saw production halve to 55,800t and Timlyuisky Cement made just 38,300t, a 38% fall.

"As the rate of construction slows down significantly, demand for cement continues to decline,” said JSC Sibcem Holding Company Deputy CEO Alexander Legotin. “Analysts from our company estimate the volume of the Siberian cement market (as a whole) is down by 29.8% from the 2025 result." He said that only the Transbaikal Territory had shown growth in the January-March 2026 quarter, with a rise of 32.9% due to large investment projects. "The negative trends will remain until the end of the year and the Siberian market will decline by at least 15%," Legotin concluded.

India: In a major success for railway reforms, Indian Railways has recorded a 170% cement movement in the final four months of the 2026 Fiscal Year (FY2026) compared to the same period of FY025. The increase comes after Indian Railways introduced innovative bulk cement tanker containers and strategically-located rail terminals for improved logistics around the country.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the new system has made loading and unloading easier while also reducing material loss. Cement manufactured in one location can now move directly to consumption centres in specialised tank containers, reducing multiple handling processes and improving plant-to-market efficiency. As the containers are of a standard shape and compatible with ready-mix concrete equipment, cement reaches construction sites in ready-to-use form. This has reduced two stages of handling, leading to lower logistics costs and faster turnaround.

The minister reported that the improved cost efficiency had been particularly significant for housing demand, as it supports the goal of making housing more affordable for low and middle income families by easing pressure on construction costs across the value chain.

Such has been the success of the scheme that Indian Railways is now working on a similar reform for fly ash transportation. Reviewing the sector with senior officials, Vaishnaw urged officials to tap the vast potential in the fly ash transportation market, noting that nearly 300Mt/yr of fly ash is produced in the country, but only about 13Mt/yr is used.