Saudi Arabia: Cement output rose slightly to 53.7Mt in 2021 from 534Mt in 2021. Clinker output increased by 12% year-on-year to 55.1Mt from 49.2Mt. Cement exports fell by 32% to 1.44Mt from 2.13Mt but clinker exports grew by 50% to 6.73Mt from 4.50Mt. Saudi Cement remained the country’s largest clinker export but exports from Yanbu Cement and Arabian Cement grew sharply.

Argentina: Data from the Association of Portland Cement Manufacturers (AFCP) shows that total cement despatches grew by 23% year-on-year to 12.1Mt in 2021 from 9.87Mt in 2020. Cement consumption rose at a similar rate to despatches. However, exports fell by 13% to 115,000t in 2021 from 132,000t in 2020. Annual cement despatches have previously fallen in consecutive years since 2018. This trend started to change in the autumn of 2021.

Peru: Cement production grew by 41% year-on-year to 12.9Mt in 2021 from 9.14Mt in 2020. Data from the Association of Cement Producers (ASOCEM) shows that cement and clinker exports increased by 43% to 205,000t and by 128% to 707,000t respectively. Cement and clinker imports rose by 23% to 884,000t and 131% to 1.55Mt respectively. In December 2021 94% of cement imports came from Vietnam and the majority of clinker imports came from South Korea. ASOCEM added that the recovery of local cement despatch levels from July 2020 was a sign that the market had recovered after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ghana: The Ministry of Health has responded to criticism from the Chamber of Cement Manufacturers (COCMAG) about disinfection measures being used at ports. It said that it was being used to on the exterior of imported goods and cargo to control or kill infectious agents. It added that the procedure was being implemented on any vehicle that crossed designated biosecurity zones without exception.

“It is obvious that COCMAG, of which you are the executive secretary, does not have much information about the disinfection health service, its applications and the benefits of such a service,” said the ministry in a statement in response to comments in the local press by COCMAG’s leader George Dawson-Ahmoah. It added that the fee for the service was to protect the local economy from the effects of diseases such as Ebola and Covid-19 and that sea ports were, “one of the most infected areas in the country.”

COCMAG has lobbied the government to scrap the disinfection or fumigation levy on cement imports at the country’s ports. It argues that such measures are unnecessary for dry cargo such as clinker, limestone, and other cement raw materials, according to the Ghana News Agency. The levy adds a reported US$0.50/t of cement.