TEHRAN – Head of Iran Cement Association has said the country exported 14 million tons of cement in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), IRIB reported.

Hamid Farmani put the country’s cement production in the mentioned year at 76 million tons, noting that most of the exported cement was sent to the countries in the region.

According to the official, Iran’s cement consumption in the previous year was about 66 million tons, 10 percent more than the figure for a year earlier.

“We predict that in the coming years, the per capita consumption of this product in Iran will approach advanced and developing countries, and the consumption will increase from about 800 kg per person to 2,000 kg per person,” he noted.

Mentioning some of the challenges in the way of increasing cement production in the country, Farmani said the country’s cement production equipment and machinery are in need of renovation.

Cement companies, especially those that are older, have not been able to renovate their machinery and equipment over the past 10-15 years due to lack of sufficient income,” he said.

Back in April, head of Iran's Cement Industry Producers Association said Iran's cement exports have grown by 12 percent in nearly two years.

Ali-Akbar Alvandian said that Iran had exported 10.5 million metric tons (mt) of cement in the first nine months of the calendar year 1402 (March 21-December 21, 2023).

As reported, 13 million mt of cement had been exported in 1401, he added.

Alvandian noted that Iran produces about 90 million mt of cement annually, of which 60 million mt is consumed domestically.

There are currently 13 semi-finished projects in the country, he said, adding that the production of white cement will increase by over 8.8 million mt if they become operational.

Iranian cement is exported to 25 countries, including Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria.

Iran produced 63 million tons of cement in 2021 to be ranked the world’s seventh biggest cement producer.

The Islamic Republic was ranked the world’s fifth biggest cement producer in 2020, producing 69 million tons of the product.

The Iranian cement industry has a history of more than eight decades of activity.

Currently, there are 96 cement production lines active in 74 factories across Iran, and nearly half of them are less than 10 years old. This is an indication that new production units have a greater share of the total output in this sector.

Neighboring countries are not only consumers of Iranian cement but also demand the transfer of the cement industry’s technology to their countries.

EF/MA