Cement prices are expected to rise by about 15% in late June, says chairman of the board of directors at Cement Industry Employers Association. According to Mohammad Atabak, the hike in prices is meant to compensate the rising production costs, IRNA reported.
Iranian cement producers have been hit in recent years with a myriad of adverse factors, including an ongoing recession in the domestic construction sector and the loss of their primary export destination, Iraq, as a result of the western neighbor’s high import tariffs on Iranian cement.
About 15 million tons of cement and clinker–the main material used in cement production–were exported in the last Iranian year (March 2015-16), with Iraq accounting for close to 65% of this figure. Iran is the biggest producer of cement in the Middle East and the fourth largest in the world.
