Producers cement new markets

Domestic cement companies are seeking new outlets such as Bangladesh, Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore and Myanmar.

The Viet Nam Cement Industry Corp (Vicem), the country’s leading cement producer, last month made a trip to Myanmar to explore the market there.

Myanmar had a huge demand for cement as its factories had failed to meet domestic consumption. For years, Myanmar had imported cement from Thailand, Malaysia and China, the company said in its report.

Export prices of cement to Myanmar were also quite attractive compared to those of other markets such as Bangladesh, Laos and Cambodia, it said.

During the first six months of this year, with increasing efforts to find new outlets, the company exported 610,000 tonnes of cement to Singapore, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Laos.

Vicem general director Nguyen Ngoc Anh said the company had missed its target of exporting 1 million tonnes of cement last year, but with encouraging first half export results, it hoped to export from 1.1 to 1.2 million tonnes by the end of this year.

Hoang Phat Vissai Group said a contract to export clinker to Bangladesh inked last year with the Hong Kong-based Peakwark Enterprises had created more opportunities for the company to access new markets such as Japan and Singapore.

The company was in negotiations with its partner to continue to export clinker to the other potential markets, said chairman of the group’s board Hoang Manh Truong.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Construction urged cement manufacturers to look for potential markets in Bangladesh, the Middle East and Africa.

It has also worked with the association to help cement producers nationwide apply more advanced technology to reduce input costs.

The country’s cement industry had 110 production lines with a total design capacity of 64 million tonnes annually, according to the Viet Nam Cement Association.

However, many plants did not yet run at full capacity. As a result, total production this year was expected to reach 57 million tonnes, the association said, adding that there were 4-5 million tonnes of stockpiled cement. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam cement, Vietnam cement industry