Uganda: The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has announced new measures requiring cement retailers to install verified weighing scales at their place of business. It also urged builders to verify the weight of every cement bag before purchase, following reports of underweight products on the market. The move comes in response to public concern after Tororo Cement bags labelled as 50kg allegedly weighed between 40kg and 42kg. UNBS executive director James Kasigwa said investigations had established that cement producers comply with national quality and weight standards, with most cases of underweight cement resulting from tampering by traders after the products leave the plant. Kasigwa urged consumers to buy cement bearing the UNBS Quality Mark as proof that it meets the country's quality standards.

UNBS market surveillance uncovered three retailers in Mukono, Mbale and Nakasongola districts selling underweight cement. Investigations established that suspects collected empty cement bags from construction sites, opened genuine bags, siphoned out part of the cement, resealed the packaging and resold the products to unsuspecting buyers.

"The warehouses were sealed off, the suspects were arrested and are being prosecuted for their illegal actions," Kasigwa said.

Iraq/Syria: The Iraq-based Al-Qaim Cement plant has reportedly reached its full production capacity of 0.84Mt/yr and has begun to increase exports to Syria, according to Iraqi News which cited an announcement by the Ministry of Industry and Minerals. The plant produces 70,000t/month of suphate-resistant cement and exports 7500t of that to Syria. The plant is powered by a 30MW power station, decreasing its reliance on the national grid and eliminating interruptions to production. It launched its first cement exports to Syria through the Al-Waleed border crossing in May 2026.

Mexico: Cooperativa La Cruz Azul’s plant in Hidalgo is preparing to restart production, with the goal of recovering production levels it recorded prior to 2021, according to La Jornada which cited a statement by the company. The company regained control of the cement plant in May 2026 after a five-year internal dispute ended in February 2026. It said in May 2026 that rehabilitation of the plant was expected to be completed within three months. It had previously halted production in 2021. It said that it expects to achieve a 17% growth in cement production by the end of 2026.

“This plant has historical significance because it represents not only our origins, but also those of the cement industry in Mexico. We are completing our testing phase and have followed a very strict programme to ensure that production maintains our quality standards,” said chair of the board Victor Velázquez.

Austria: Rohdorfer Zement has increased the capacity of the pilot CO₂ capture facility at its Rohrdorf cement plant to 99%. The facility can now capture 2t/day of CO₂, up from 0.9t previously. This is due to a second absorption column, which was installed in March 2026, directly behind the first. The facility also employs an oxystripper from Andritz, which has been use since July 2026. The oxystripper removes approximately 90% of the oxygen dissolved in the amine scrubbing solution to increase both the purity of the captured CO₂ and the lifespan of the scrubbing solution.

“Since the capture plant went online, we have been working consistently to further increase the plant’s performance and energy efficiency. With the second column and the oxystripper, we have reached an important milestone in this effort. At the same time, these measures have enabled us to further improve CO₂ quality in a targeted manner and to come significantly closer to meeting the very challenging requirements for storage,” said Christian Räthel, Head of CCUS for Rohrdorfer’s Net Zero Emissions Team.