Global Cement News

Saudi Arabia: Total cement sales in Saudi Arabia dropped by 2% year-on-year to 3.61Mt in March 2025 from 3.70Mt in March 2024, according to data from Yamama Cement. Domestic sales fell by almost 4% to 3.45Mt, while exports rose by 36% to 158,000t from 116,000t. Arabian Cement recorded the highest increase in domestic sales at 26%, followed by Al-Safwa Cement with 22%. Umm Al-Qura Cement posted the steepest drop at 36%, while Tabuk Cement’s fell by 34%. Al-Jouf Cement’s sales remained unchanged at 102,000t.

Three companies exported a total of 158,000 tons of cement in March 2025. Saudi Cement led with 139,000t. Clinker production fell by 6% to 5.1Mt, while clinker inventories grew 5% to 44.3Mt. Saudi Cement also led clinker exports with 153,000t, followed by Northern Region Cement with 58,000t.

Ukraine: A court has reportedly invalidated the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU)’s competition clearance for CRH Ukraine's acquisition of Buzzi subsidiary Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine, completed in October 2024. Interfax-Ukraine News has reported that the court found that the clearance, granted in September 2024, was based on insufficient ‘clarification and evidence’ of details on the Ukrainian ready-to-use mortar mixes market situation.

The court allegedly also ruled that the Netherlands-based subsidiary of Ireland-based CRH had yet to meet certain commitments upon which the AMCU’s approval was conditional. Following the acquisition of Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine, it was required to appoint executive, directorial or supervisory personnel to the company who did not already hold positions in CRH Ukraine-controlled entities. CRH clarified that it in fact appointed Mariusz Tomasz Bogacz on 11 October 2024, after his powers as a member of the supervisory board of Podilsky Cement had already been terminated, on 8 October 2024.

Building materials and property development company Kovalska Group mounted the successful legal challenge. The Kyiv Post newspaper has reported that the Kyiv-based company controls over 50% of the concrete market in Kyiv Oblast.

Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine’s assets comprise two integrated cement plants, cement terminals and ready-mix concrete plants in Kyiv, Odessa and Mykolaiv. They entered Italy-based Buzzi’s control following the group’s progressive acquisition of Germany-based Dyckerhoff in 2001 – 2013. CRH and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed a mandate letter for the launch of a joint acquisition of the business in December 2023. The value of the deal was reportedly €100m.

The latest decision is currently under appeal by CRH.

This story was modified on 22 April 2025 to correct the inaccurate claim that the latest court ruling 'blocked' or ‘overturned' the completed acquisition and to add CRH's clarification regarding the effective appointment of Mariusz Tomasz Bogacz.

India: The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal has approved Vadraj Cement’s acquisition by Nirma Group-owned cement producer Nuvoco Vistas. Gujarat-based Vadraj Cement, formerly owned by ABG Shipyard, has admitted liabilities of US$1.1bn, while Nuvoco Vistas proposes to pay US$209m to acquire the company through the bankruptcy process.

Vadraj Cement operates grinding units in Surat, with a total capacity of 6Mt/yr, and a clinker plant of 3.5Mt/yr in Kutch, which mostly supplies the grinding plants. All assets are located in the state of Gujarat. The acquisition will increase Nuvoco Vistas’ cement capacity to around 31Mt/yr, making it the fifth-largest cement producer in India by installed capacity.

Nuvoco Vistas won an auction for the business against other bidders, including JK Cement, JSW Cement, KIFS, RKG Fund and Orissa Metaliks.

US: It is rumoured that the Trump administration is ‘rethinking’ a US$500m subsidy awarded to National Cement’s Lebec plant in California for a carbon capture and storage project, which had formerly been awarded by the previous Biden administration. The plans intend to make the plant California’s ‘first net zero cement plant’ in line with a 2021 state law to make all cement used in California be net-zero by 2045. It is expected to create 20-25 jobs.

"No final decisions have been made and multiple plans are still being considered," wrote government spokeswoman Andrea Woods in an email to press. She did not mention the cement plant project specifically, nor question the authenticity of a series of spreadsheets, reported on by the US press, which appear to show federal grants for decarbonisation projects that may be being reconsidered.

President Trump has expressed scepticism over his predecessor's focus on addressing climate change, including the use of public funds. National Cement says that it has not been contacted by the government about the project.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has reported that it ended 2024 with global CO₂ emissions of 550kg/t of cementitious material produced, a reduction of 28% compared to 1990, the baseline year used by the cement industry. The level reflects a 1% year-on-year decrease from 556kg/t in 2023. Votorantim Cimentos’ 2030 decarbonisation target, approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), is 475kg/t of cementitious product.

Votorantim Cimentos’ global thermal substitution rate (TSR) was 32% in 2024, an increase over 2023’s TSR of 31%. Its 2030 target is 53%. The company’s clinker factor was 72.5%, a slight fall compared to 73% in 2023. Its 2030 goal is 68%. 34% of the electricity consumed by Votorantim Cimentos in 2024 came from renewable sources, the same as in 2023. The company’s goal is to have 45% of the energy consumed globally come from renewable sources by 2030.

Álvaro Lorenz, Global Director of Sustainability, Institutional Relations, Product Development, Engineering and Energy, said “Globally, we have made progress in pilot projects for CO₂ capture, installed new co-processing and renewable energy sites and systems, and launched low-carbon products. All these efforts will contribute toward our decarbonisation journey and help us achieve our goal of producing carbon-neutral concrete by 2050.”