Tajikistan has imposed temporary ban on cement exports in order to fully meet domestic requirements in this building material.  

A source within the relevant agency has told Asia-Plus that the ban was introduced on the basis of instruction from the prime minister for an indefinite period.

The source noted that the country’s requirements in cement have significantly increased in recent years “due to the widespread expansion of construction sites.”  

Besides, the ban is also attributed to the Dushanbe cement plant (Open Joint-Stock Company Tajikcement) shutdown.  In recent year, the Dushanbe cement plant has produced up to 300,000 tons of cement per year. 

The source said that a new cement plant with annual capacity of 1.2 million tons will be introduced into operation in Varzob district, in the area not far from the Dushanbe cement plant site, in the near future. 

Recall, the Government of Tajikistan on July 18 issued a regulation to shut down the Dushanbe cement plant as it causes serious air pollution in the Tajik capital city.  The plant is expected to cease its operations until the end of this year.

The source further added that export of cement is one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings in the country.  And now the suspension of cement supplies may result in negative consequences for Tajik exporters.

“They may lose the trust of foreign partners and, consequently, the markets, especially in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, which are major trading partners for Tajikistan’s cement exports for translation.  Moreover, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan are currently constructing cement plants,” the source said. 

Top managers of Huaxin Gayur Cement had earlier expressed their surprise at the government's decision to ban exports in an interview with Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi.

“We produce cement much more than our domestic market needs.   Warehouses store tons of finished products.  It is needed to sell this product to other countries; otherwise, the company will be forced to stop cement production,” they said.   

According to official statistics, Tajikistan has produced about 2.1 million tons of cement over the first six months of this year, which is reportedly 4.0 percent more compared to the same period last year.  

Last year, Tajikistan reportedly produced about 4.4 million tons of cement

In 2021, Tajikistan produced more than 4.2 million tons of cement. 

In 2020, Tajikistan produced 4.2 million tons of cement.  In 2020, Tajikistan’s cement exports reportedly were 1.3 million tons; Uzbekistan imported 764,000 tons, Afghanistan imported 505,000 tons and Kyrgyzstan imported 42,000 tons.

In 2019, Tajikistan produced 4.2 million of cement in 2019, which was 400,000 tons more than in 2018.  In 2018, Tajikistan produced 3.8 million tons of cement.

In 2017, Tajikistan exported little more than one million tons of cement.   In 2016, Tajikistan’s cement exports amounted to little more than 282,000 tons of cement.

Tajikistan began exporting cement to neighboring countries in 2015 and it exported only some 500 tons of cement in that year.   

Tajikistan has increased production of cement significantly in recent years due to launching new Tajik-Chinese joint ventures.  Over the last ten years, production of cement has increased in Tajikistan nearly ten times.

Currently, there are fifteen cement plants with a total capacity of more than 5 million tons operating in Tajikistan. 

Tajik-Chinese joint ventures Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement, Huaxin Gayur Cement, and Huaxin Gayur Sughd Cement have accounted for some 80 percent of the country’s cement production.  

Approximately one third of the cement produced in the country has been exported to neighboring countries, primarily to Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. 

However, such achievements of Tajikistan’s industry evoke concern of ecologists, who consider that excessive increase in cement production may cause irreparable harm to the country’s environment.

According to them, more polluting plants in China are forced to shut down or pay the costs of environmental damage in the wake of new laws and a crackdown on pollution.  Cement is one of the world’s most polluting industries, and therefore, Chinese producers have moved excess capacity offshore.  The Chinese cement plants mainly use coal for their fuel.  The companies reportedly claim that their plants are using advanced environmental and energy saving technology, without specifying exact standards.