Cement exports may surge 70%

India will export 15 million tonne of cement in this financial year, nearly 70 per cent more than the previous year's nine million tonne.

At a two-day seminar on the cement industry which began in Mumbai on Tuesday, N Srinivasan, president, Cement Manufacturers' Association, said, "India exports up to 10 million tonne of cement and clinker, and the targeted export for the current year is around 15 million tonne."

Demand in the Middle East market has been on the rise, leading to firm prices in the region.

"Exports by companies based in Gujarat have been increasing as there is huge demand from the Middle East markets. It is expected that this demand will continue for the next few months, resulting in higher prices," a senior executive from a company in Gujarat said.

The industry is also poised for a 7.5-8 per cent growth in the current financial. "With the first nine months reporting almost an eight per cent growth, the industry is set for a 7.5-8 per cent growth in the full financial year," said E N Murthy, secretary general, Cement Manufacturers' Association.

The firm growth has come on the back of a double-digit demand growth in the industry in last couple of months.

"Unlike last year, which recorded a growth of 5.5 per cent as many infrastructure projects did not take off as planned, this year we have seen lot of work being done in that sector. This has resulted in a stable demand for cement and concrete," Murthy said.

The seminar was conducted by the Cement Manufacturers' Association.