TURKEY: Turkish cement production rises 12.2 percent

Turkey, as Europe’s largest cement producer and the fifth-largest in the world, continues to grow its industry, according to a report by the national Cement Manufacturers’ Association. The rising export figures reflect a revival in Turkey’s key construction sector as Turkish contractors improve business abroad.

Turkey posted a 12 percent increase in cement production in the first five months of this year, making nearly 24 million tons of the construction material, Anatolia news agency reported.

Turkey increased the total amount of cement produced by nearly 4 million tons in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the Turkish Cement Manufacturers’ Association, or TCMA, the news agency reported. Seventy-two percent of the material was sold in the domestic cement market and the rest exported, said the association.

Sales in the domestic market reached nearly 17.4 million tons in the first five months of this year, up from 15.3 million tons when compared to last year’s figures, representing an increase of 14.2 percent.

The total amount of cement exported during this period reached nearly 6.8 million tons, up from last year’s approximately 6.4 millions tons, representing an increase of 6.2 percent.

The highest levels of cement production occurred mainly at factories located in the Marmara region, which produced nearly 6.2 million tons. The Mediterranean region ranked second, producing nearly 5.4 million tons. The Central Anatolian region produced nearly 3.5 million tons, while the Black Sea region produced nearly 2.9 tons. Smaller amounts were produced in other regions: the Southeast region produced nearly 2.6 million tons, the Aegean region produced nearly 2.4 million tons and the East region produced nearly 1.5 million tons.

Export target: 19 million tons

Turkey exported nearly 14 million tons of cement in 2009. Iraq, Syria, Italy, Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Israel, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria were the top 10 export destinations respectively. Neighboring Iraq imported nearly 3.4 million tons and Syria nearly 2 million tons last year. Turkey exported nearly 1.3 million tons of cement to Italy and 1.3 million to Libya by the end of 2009. As Europe's largest cement exporter last year, Turkey is aiming to export nearly 19 million tons of cement during 2010, according to TCMA.