In 2018, Tajikistan exported 1.4 million tons of cement to neighboring countries, which is some 40 percent more than in 2017, according to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MoINT).
Last year, Tajikistan reportedly exported 810,000 tons of cement to Uzbekistan, 528,000 tons to Afghanistan and 87,000 tons to Kyrgyzstan.
Tajik-Chinese joint ventures Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement, Huaxin Gayur Cement and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement accounted for a total of some 96 percent the country’s cement exports in 2018.
In 2017, Tajikistan exported little more than one million tons of cement.
In 2016, Tajikistan’s cement exports amounted to little more than 282,000 tons of cement.
Tajikistan began exporting cement to neighboring countries in 2015 and it exported only some 500 tons of cement in that year.
Meanwhile, Tajikistan reportedly produced 3.8 million tons of cement last year, which was 700,000 tons more than in 2017.
Last year, Tajik-Chinese joint ventures Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement, Huaxin Gayur Cement, and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement accounted for 30.5%, 28% and 25.8% of the local production respectively.
In the same period, Dushanbe-based cement plant (Tojik Cement) accounted for only 6.4 percent of the local production.
Tajikistan now has 13 cement plants with a total production capacity of 4.7Mt/yr.
Tajikistan has increased production of cement significantly in recent years due to launching new Tajik-Chinese joint ventures. Over the last eight years, production of cement has increased in Tajikistan nearly ten times.
However, such achievements of Tajikistan’s industry evoke concern of ecologists, who consider that excessive increase in cement production may cause irreparable harm to the country’s environment.
According to them, more polluting plants in China are forced to shut down or pay the costs of environmental damage in the wake of new laws and a crackdown on pollution. Cement is one of the world’s most polluting industries, and therefore, Chinese producers have moved excess capacity offshore. The Chinese cement plants mainly use coal for their fuel. The companies reportedly claim that their plants are using advanced environmental and energy saving technology, without specifying exact standards.
