Tajikistan has become the major exporter of cement to Uzbekistan.
Citing the country’s State Committee for Statistics, Uzbekistan’s online news agency kun.uz reported on August 22 that over the first seven month of this year, Uzbekistan has imported US$52.2 million worth of 1.3 million tons of cement, which was 421,000 tons fewer than in te same period last year.
Tajikistan has reportedly provided the bulk of Uzbekistan’s cement imports – 533,000 tons.
Besides, among the exporting countries the large volume also came from Kyrgyzstan – 385,000 tons; Kazakhstan – 353,000 tons; Turkmenistan – 11,500 tons; Iran — 6,700; China- 1,400 tons; and Russia – 782 tons.
Meanwhile, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Tajikistan (MoINT), Tajikistan plans to increase production of cement from 4.5 million tons to 5.733 million tons by 2026. Most of the products will be exported.
Recall, a MoINT has predicted a 46% increase in cement exports to 1.9Mt/yr by 2023.
16 enterprises with a total capacity of 5.6 million tons are now engaged in producing cement in Tajikistan.
Last year, Tajikistan produced more than 4.2 million tons of cement.
In 2020, Tajikistan produced 4.2 million tons of cement. In 2020, Tajikistan’s cement exports reportedly were 1.3 million tons; Uzbekistan imported 764,000 tons, Afghanistan imported 505,000 tons and Kyrgyzstan imported 42,000 tons.
In 2019, Tajikistan produced 4.2 million of cement in 2019, which was 400,000 tons more than in 2018. In 2018, Tajikistan produced 3.8 million tons of cement.
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.
Tajik-Chinese joint ventures Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement, Huaxin Gayur Cement, and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement have accounted for some 90 percent of the local cement production respectively.
Tajikistan has increased production of cement significantly in recent years due to launching new Tajik-Chinese joint ventures. Over the last ten 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.
