São Paulo – Algeria plans to raise its revenue from cement exports to 400 million by 2021, according to a projection announced by Algerian minister of Commerce, Said Djellab, and reported on Algérie Presse Service (APS), the Arab country’s official news agency.
The minister stated that last year, Algeria grossed USD 20 million from cement exports and that this has already tripled in 2019 to USD 60 million. He didn’t specify up until which month of 2019 this figure refers to, but year-to-date through July, international sales had reached USD 42 million.
Djellab addressed the topic with the press during a ceremony for cement cargo export. He said that Algeria can produce around 40 million tonnes of cement each year and, since domestic consumption is approximately 22 million tonnes, it can export nearly 20 million. Self-sufficiency was reached around two years ago. Till then, the country was an importer of the product.
Over the last years, cement output received investment aimed to meet Algerian domestic demand of the product in industries such as construction, public works, and housing as well as limiting exports. The government has worked to reach a trade surplus in several fronts.
In a story published on APS in early November, the minister of Industry and Mining, Djamila Tamarzirt, asked the Algerian logistics industry to make cement exports easier so that Algeria can reach new markets. She said that it’s necessary to improve local cement’s competitiveness in quality, price, and compliance to international standards.
Algeria owns around 20 cement plants, most of which are owned by state-owned company Groupe Industriel des Ciments d’Algérie (Gica). Figures published on the company’s website show that it owns 23 subsidiaries, being 14 cement plants. The subsidiaries also include units for technical assistance, distribution, training and others.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
