Russian cement industry in 2021

The article reviews the Russian cement industry in 2021. All indicators are given according to the reporting data of cement enterprises and Rosstat. The volume of cement production amounted to 59.9 million tons, which is up by 3.7 million tons, or 6.7 % YoY. The new dry-process and semi-wet-process production lines were mastered. Both production processes account for 56.5 % (down by 2.8 pp YoY) of the total cement production volume, while wet process production — traditional for Russia — delivers 1.3 times less cement in the country.
Cement clinker output in 2021 increased by 3.3 mil­lion tons (reaching 54.1 million tons).
Cement consumption increased by 10.9% (up to 56.2 million tons). In 2021 the European part of Russia consumed 45.9 million tons of cement or 75.8% of total amount.
The Russian construction industry this year used about 2.12 million tons of cement imported from 34 other countries. About 1.4 million tons of cement and clinker were exported (12.5% more compared to 2020).
The cost of production and sales of 1 ton of cement this year grew by RUB 185.21, or 5.0% (reaching RUB 3,889.32) vs 2020. The industry average selling price of cement in 2021 equalized at 4,297.00 RUB/ tons exclusive of VAT and excise duties and exceeded the 2020 average by 125.19 RUB/tons, or 3.0%. The estimated profitability of production and sales of cement in Russia averaged 10.5% in 2021 and was 2.13 percentage points lower than in 2020.
In 2021, about 13.5 billion rubles were invested into CAPEx in the Russian cement industry.
According to Rosstat, the production capacity of Russian enterprises at the beginning of 2021 was 105.7 million tons of cement. The average annual production capacity is estimated at 105.8 million tons in 2021 and 106.3 million tons as of January 1, 2022 (this value includes decommissioning of some obsolete wet process equipment).
Due to the increase in production at many plants in 2021, the utilization factor of existing capacities increased. According to preliminary estimates, the industry average was 56.6% (in 2020 - 55.2%).
According to estimates, the average hourly productivity of the main process equipment of the industry in 2021 increased, amounting to: 87.0 t/h for rotary kilns; 115.6 t/h for raw mills; 57.0 t/h for cement mills. The industry average utilization factor of the operating time of the equipment also increased: for kilns - up to 62.0%; for raw and cement mills - up to 55.8 and 47.5%, respectively.
Labour productivity (cement output per employee of the sector) is estimated to have increased by 6.9% in 2021 vs 2020, growing from 2,090.6 to 2,234.9 tons.
The share of natural gas in total fuel mix for cement clinker burning and drying of mineral additives in 2021 was 83.1 %, and the share of steam coal - 14.0 %.
According to preliminary data, the average specific reference fuel (RF) consumption for clinker burning in 2021 decreased by 2.3 kg/t of clinker (down to 152.5 kg/t of clinker). The wet process plants, on average, spent about 205.2 kg/t of clinker, those of the dry process plants - 117.3 kg/t, and two combined process lines at Mordovcement and Volsky cement plant - 147.6 kg/t. The average specific electricity consumption in cement production was 116.5, 123.1 and 121.0 kWh/t respectively.
According to estimates, the share of clinker in the cement mixture averaged 88.9%, and that of mineral additives - about 7.8%.
In Russia, the design, construction and reconstruction of cement enterprises and process lines continue. New production facilities are successfully put into operation and their capacities are mastered. Many cement companies are modernizing production and improving its control, while solving the tasks of enhancing product quality, energy and resource saving, reducing the cost of repairs and maintenance of equipment, and fulfilling new environmental standards. Increasing attention is paid to reducing CO2 emissions. The use of alternative fuels is expanded to partially replace its natural types. Digital technologies are actively used in production and logistics.

Author: G.Yu. Vasilik, Ye.M. Eremina

Section: Review

Keywords: cement industry, production, consumption, export, import, dry process