Martinique: The introduction of the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism on imported materials has been ‘met with disapproval’ in the French West Indies, particularly within the construction sector, according to local press. From 1 January 2026, the measure applies to imports from outside the EU, targeting goods such as aluminum, steel and clinker.

Martinique has no clinker production capacity, and imported over 120,000t of the material in 2025.

Laurent Nesty, sales director of Ciments Antillais (part of the Lafarge Holcim group), said the tax will increase the price of concrete by 7 - 8%, and the price of cement by 11%. “It is completely impossible to absorb this increase, since the amount we will have to pay by 2034 will be greater than our turnover. Therefore, we have an obligation to pass on this amount," he said. Nesty added that there are currently no viable European or local alternatives to imported clinker, with imports coming from countries such as Mexico and Algeria.

Kyrgyzstan: Portland cement imports from China reached 28,700t between January and November 2025, marking a 480-fold increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from the General Customs Administration of China. The total value of the imported cement reached US$2.4m. Monthly imports exceeded 1000t starting in May 2025, which coincides with the launch of construction works for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. The bulk of imports occurred during the summer months, accounting for 63% of the annual total.

India: Jindal Cement has announced plans to increase its production capacity fourfold to 10Mt/yr over the next two to three years, supported by an investment of approximately US$332m. The expansion will primarily boost output at the company’s existing plants in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh and Angul, Odisha, which currently have a combined capacity of 2.5Mt/yr. Of the total investment, around US$276m will be allocated to adding 4.5Mt/yr of new capacity — 3Mt/yr at Raigarh and 1.5Mt/yr at Angul.

Morocco: Cement deliveries totalled over 14.8Mt in 2025, marking an 8% increase compared to 2024, according to the Ministry of National Territorial Development. Of this total, over 8.02Mt were destined for distribution, according to the ministry. However, deliveries in December 2025 declined by 15% year-on-year to 1.1Mt, indicating a year-end slowdown, despite the overall growth trend throughout the year.