Algerian cement exports continued to increase to reach USD 747 million in 2023, said Sunday in Algiers, the Minister of Trade and Export Promotion, Tayeb Zitouni, specified that this increase reflected the dynamics experienced by the construction materials sector in Algeria in recent years.
Algerian cement exports did not exceed USD 60 million in 2019, before reaching USD 747 million in 2023, thanks to the increase in national production capacities for this strategic material, Mr. Zitouni said in a statement to the press. on the sidelines of the opening of the International Building, Construction Materials and Public Works Exhibition (Batimatec-2024), reports the APS.
He also underlined that the national production capacities of the 18 cement plants existing in Algeria reached 39 million tonnes in 2022, but these capacities far exceed the needs of the local market, estimated at 21 million tonnes.
Algeria is the second-largest clinker exporter in the world
Algeria is the second world exporter of clinker (a product used in the manufacture of cement) after Vietnam, with a total value estimated at 438.48 million USD, said the minister who underlined the need to “move from export of clinker as a raw material to the export of cement and an increase in added value.
Among the main clinker-importing countries, Mr. Zitouni cited France (172 million USD), Italy (113 million USD), and Belgium (89 million USD).
Mr. Zitouni welcomed, in this sense, the efforts of actors in the cement sector who are working to make production chains compliant with environmental standards, so that national factories “avoid taxes applied on carbon emissions to preserve their markets and their share in the world”, and this, within the framework of the production of “green cement”, which can reduce carbon emissions by 40 to 50%.
The increase in exports in the cement sector reflects the dynamics experienced by the national construction materials sector in general, since the decision of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in 2020, to prohibit the importation of materials locally produced.
Algeria exported construction materials worth $1.2 billion
He highlighted, in this context, the “high quality and great competition” of Algerian products, in particular tiles, cement, ceramics, concrete reinforcing bars, covering materials, and plaster decorations, which requires more effort to take advantage of this promising global market.
Overall, Algeria exported construction materials worth USD 1.2 billion to different countries around the world in 2023, according to figures put forward by the minister, who recalled that Algeria was once a country importing construction materials of all kinds.
According to the minister, Algeria ranks third as the main exporter of construction materials to the African market, with exports estimated at USD 680 million.
Furthermore, the Minister of Commerce indicated that to further contribute to the promotion of the construction materials sector and Algerian products, an international edition of the “Batimatec” exhibition will be organized soon in Africa under the name “Algeria Construction “.
