In the January-May period of 2021, the production of the cement sector increased by 32.3% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 29 million 696 thousand tons. The domestic sales of the sector reached 22 million 403 thousand tons with an increase of 37.1%.
TÜRKÇİMENTO, the umbrella association of the cement industry, announced the production and sales figures of its members for the first 5 months of 2021. While cement production of TÜRKÇİMENTO members, representing 94% of the industry, increased by 32.3% to 29 million 696 thousand tons in the 5-month period of 2021 compared to the previous year, domestic sales reached 22 million 403 thousand tons with an increase of 37.1%. As in previous months, domestic sales increased in all regions. Approximately 22.9% of the cement produced in the first five months of the year was exported.
In the statement made by TÜRKÇİMENTO, it was stated that domestic sales throughout the country continued to increase in all regions, and the following expressions were used: “Turkey’s cement consumption decreased by 11% in 2018 and by 29% in 2019, two years in a row for the first time in its history. Approximately 40 million tons of excess capacity emerged at the end of 2020. Cement is generally produced for domestic consumption; however, the contraction in domestic consumption in the last period led our companies to export. However, export is not an option preferred by our industry due to the risky sustainability. The results of the Construction Materials Industry Index announced by IMSAD show that there is an increase in both activities and expectations in the construction sector. We think that this situation will have a positive impact on the construction sector and therefore on the domestic market consumption of our sector in the coming period.”
January-July Exports
According to the provisional data of the Exporters’ Associations, the total exports of the cement industry increased by 10.9% on value basis and reached 723 million dollars in the January-July 2021 period. However, the total export amount decreased by 4.3% compared to the same period of the previous year and decreased to 18 million tons. 10.7 million tons of the said export consisted of cement and 7.3 million tons of clinker.