Iran's cement, clinker exports rises 36.2% in 9 months

Iran exported 14.43 million tons of cement and clinker in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year, beginning on March 21, which shows a 36.2 percent rise year on year, Tehran Times daily reported on Sunday. Exports of cement and clinker amounted to 11.16 million tons and 3.26 million tons respectively, the secretary of the union of cement industry employers, Abdolreza Sheikhan, was quoted as saying. Iran plans to export 12 million tons of cement in the current Iranian year and to increase its cement output up to 85 million tons by the end of the next year, according to the report. In August 2012, former Iranian Industry, Mines and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said that the country's cement production capacity would reach 110 million tons by 2015. In the past Iranian year, Iran exported cement to 24 countries, including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Oman, India, and China.