Hamid Farmani, the head of Iran’s regime Cement Producers Association, stated that due to the energy shortage crisis, the country’s cement production is 13 million tons below the nominal capacity of cement manufacturing units.
On Tuesday, January 4, Farmani clarified that the nominal capacity for cement production in Iran is estimated to be around 80 million tons per year. However, issues such as energy imbalances, power and gas outages, and decreased demand have reduced actual production to a lower amount.
Eight-month statistics from the Ministry of Industry indicate that clinker production (the primary material for cement) has declined by 3 million tons compared to the same period last year, reaching 50 million tons.
Iran’s Industries Face Complete Power Shutdown Amid Growing Crisis
Data from the Chamber of Commerce also show that the electricity and fuel supply crisis in cement production units has intensified to such an extent that, with the shutdown of cement plants, Iran exported raw cement material, clinker, for the first time in 2024. Between March 21 and September 22, 2024, Iran exported $77 million worth of clinker, mainly to Arab countries in the region.
Iraq, which is Iran’s largest cement export market, has become the biggest buyer of Iranian clinker during this period. Statistics from Iraq’s Ministry of Industry and Mines show that the country’s cement production grew by 7% last year, reaching 10.6 million tons.
Farmani also commented on this issue, stating: “The continuous and positive growth of Iraq’s cement industry poses a serious challenge for Iran.”
The situation in Iran’s steel and petrochemical industries is even worse than in cement, as petrochemical plants are operating at only 70% capacity. Meanwhile, according to the World Steel Association, Iran’s crude steel production capacity exceeds 40 million tons, but only 31 million tons were produced last year.
In addition to large industries, Iran’s small industries have also been severely affected by electricity and gas shortages.
According to estimates by the Research Center of the Iranian Parliament, the economic loss suffered by small industries due to power outages in the summer of this year amounted to 430 trillion rials (approximately $512 million).
