TEHRAN- Iran exported 11.4 million tons of cement and clinker in the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20- November 21), which was 22 percent higher than the figure for the same period of time in the past year, IRNA reported on Saturday, citing official data.

As reported, the share of clinker in the country’s cement products export basket has increased in the mentioned period which resulted in a decrease in the value of the export basket for each ton.

Based on the statistics, the average value of Iran’s cement products basket has decreased to $18.3 per ton in the mentioned period, from last year’s $33.9.

During the mentioned period, the clinker weight share of the total cement chain exports increased from 43 percent to 52 percent.

Iran exported cement products to 37 foreign destinations, 10 of which accounted for over 78 percent of the total exports.

With an annual production capacity of 87 million tons, Iran’s cement industry holds the world’s sixth place in terms of production capacity.

The country’s annual cement consumption stands at about 61 million tons and the annual exports of the commodity chain are over 11 million tons.

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

EF/MA