Ban on cement imports from Kazakhstan hits Iran's cement industry

On May 6, officials of the Iranian Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) said that Kazakhstan had recently introduced a ban on the import of certain types of cement products from countries outside the Eurasian Economic Union for a period of six months. The ban came into effect on April 28, including Portland cement, clinker , alumina cement and other types of hydraulic cement.

The reason is that the COVID-19 epidemic has affected the construction of projects in Kazakhstan, resulting in a decrease in demand for cement. The official said that as Kazakhstan is the main export destination of Iranian cement, the ban will have a huge impact on Iran's cement industry, and the representative of the Iranian government in Kazakhstan is discussing with the relevant parties the possibility of an exemption for Iran. The head of the Export Committee of the Iranian General Chamber of Commerce, Rahoti, said that if this major market was lost, Iran's cement industry would face unimaginable huge losses. Last fiscal year (March 2019 to March 2020), Iran exported 17.5 million tons of cement and cement clinker, including about 6.7 million tons of cement and 10.8 million tons of clinker.