CG News-Iran: Iran s cement plants have all stopped producing clinker for 30 days, as of 14 January 2015. Abdolreza Sheykhan, an official with Iran s Cement Producers Association, said that the country currently has 17Mt of clinker in store.

"We have stopped producing clinker in order to turn the current inventory to cement," said Sheykhan, adding that the country s need is only 10Mt until the end of the current Iranian calendar year on 20 March 2014. The Iranian oil ministry will pay US$7/t of cement to production plants to compensate for their loss. "Iran s current cement output is around 6.5Mt/month," said Sheykhan. "The country s need, however, is around 4.5 – 5Mt/month."

Iran exported nearly 9.25Mt of cement in the first eight months of the current Iranian year, which started on 21 March 2014. This is 8.5% lower compared to the same period in the previous year. Sheykhan had previously said that the insecurity in Iraq and reduction in the number of destination markets for Iran s cement are the major reasons behind the fall in exports.

"Azerbaijan was one of the major importers of Iran s cement, but the country has now reached self-sufficiency and reduced its imports from Iran," said Sheykhan. He named Russia and African countries as new markets for Iran s cement exports, adding that by taking the mentioned markets, Iran can increase its cement and clinker exports by 1.5Mt/yr.