The Cement Industry in Asia: Major Producers & Trends

 

The cement industry plays a vital role in infrastructure development and urbanization drives the demand for cement greatly. Concrete is currently the second-most used substance on the planet after water, which explains its importance.

In this article, we review the cement industry in Asia and what countries account for much of the exports and the consumption. We will also explain current issues that governments work actively trying to resolve, and how these affect the markets.

The Cement Industry in Asia

Production and consumption of cement are largely concentrated in Asia, accounting for 73% of the output globally and a consumption of 81%. Yet, the cement production industry is also facing a capacity surplus due to lower demand from the construction industries.

The largest producers of cement include China, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia where China produces and consumes the most by a big margin. In Southeast Asia, there is a large gap between Vietnam and the second-largest cement-producing country, Indonesia, which has 15 integrated plants and 66 million metric tons of production per year.

Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia all also possess large cement markets, despite not being as big as the above-mentioned countries.

The EU imports the most cement from China, Thailand, and the Philippines, while Vietnam is in the top 5 exporters of cement and clinker to the US. Having said that, both the EU and the US aren’t dependent on cement from Asia as most of their cement producers operate on a global scale and can provide enough for the domestic markets.

Worth highlighting is also the close ties between the US, Mexico, and Brazil, where the latter have large-scale cement manufacturing.

In recent years, China has tried to cut down on cement production due to environmental issues. It’s said that if the cement industry was a country, it would be the third-biggest polluter in the world, after the US and China. The governments of Vietnam and Indonesia have also implemented measures to counter the surplus of cement capacity with new regulations that limit new cement investment projects. The new regulations and limits will also help to reduce the cement output, preventing oversupply and increased competition among suppliers.

What countries are the biggest cement producers in Asia?

Four of the ten biggest producers of cement globally can be found in Asia, as well as the world’s biggest exporter of cement. Keep in mind that we must make a distinction between “producers” and “exporters” as countries like China consume much of their locally produced cement.

Vietnam

Vietnam is the biggest exporter of cement globally with an export value of 1.4 billion USD in 2020, equaling 12.5% of the global cement exports. Clinker is a nodular material used as a binder in cement products, and Vietnam also exports this product in large quantities.

Vietnam exports around 10% to 15% of its cement, having China, the Philippines, and Bangladesh as its biggest trading partners. China doesn’t have a shortage of cement, yet the cost for Chinese producers to transport products to the coastal region is higher than importing from Vietnam. This explains why China remains the biggest importer of Vietnam’s cement and clinker for many years, accounting for 57% of the total export volume.

At the moment, Vietnam faces an oversupply of cement. While the current domestic demand is around 65 million tons, the industry’s capacity has reached nearly 107 million tons. The situation is particularly serious in the North of Vietnam, which will increase its dependence on the export market.

China

China is the biggest cement producer, consumer, and importer in the world. It produces almost 60% of the world’s cement and accounts for most of the colossal carbon footprint of the industry. In 2020, the production volume reached almost 2.4 billion metric tons. To match China’s urbanization need, the domestic production of cement grew rapidly between 2002 and 2014.

However, the demand for cement is expected to decline due to the shift from mass urbanization to more sustainable infrastructure, along with the slowdown in the Chinese real estate market. Therefore, the country is reportedly trying to limit cement imports.

In addition to restricting imports, China has a plan to cut down on cement production as the manufacturing process requires much coal, which emits CO2 and dust. This causes a negative and long-lasting impact on the environment. This is part of its five-year plan to reach the CO2 emission reduction goal.

India

Being the second-largest cement producer with 7% of the global installed capacity, India has a positive outlook on its cement industry. Until February 2021, India’s overall cement production reached 262 million metric tons in 2021, which is around 10% of China’s.

The demand for housing in rural areas and the Indian government’s strong focus on infrastructure development will drive the cement production to double-digit growth. Examples of infrastructure development projects include the goal of creating 100 smart cities, expanding the capacity of railways, and adding 125,000 km of roads in the coming five years. We will also see an increase in storage and handling facilities to reduce transportation costs. The demand for cement will remain high for at least until 2030.

South India is the main hub for cement production that has several big producers, accounting for 33% of India’s total output. On the international trade aspect, India exports mostly to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, while it imports much clinker from Vietnam.

Indonesia

Indonesia is an emerging exporter of cement, having a production volume of around 66 million metric tons of cement in 2021. It’s rapidly increasing exports of cement and clinker where Bangladesh and the Philippines are major importers of clinker, and Mauritius and the Maldives are the biggest importers of its cement.

The cement industry is dominated by four major producers, including the state-owned Semen Indonesia, which has a 44% market share. The other major producers include Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, Holcim Indonesia, and Semen Baturaja.

Like Vietnam, Indonesia also struggles with an oversupply as domestic consumption only accounts for 60% of its production capability. Despite the massive infrastructure projects across the country, the low utilization rate results in inefficiencies that have hurt many cement producers.

Summary

Asia has four of the ten biggest cement producers globally, including China, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia. While Vietnam exports much of its cement, China consumes much of its locally produced cement and where most of the supply is allocated to the construction industry. Worth highlighting is also the overcapacity that countries struggle with, including Vietnam, which will result in the need for more exports.

At the same time, Europe is facing a crisis due to a shortage of building materials, which is partly related to the increased energy costs. Turkey and China have traditionally been interesting supply markets for such products, but we might well see Southeast Asian countries becoming new options for foreign companies.

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