Are Cement Manufacturing Giants in Armenia Facing Closure? - Jougoout

«Jougoout» newspaper reports that the large industrial entities engaged in cement production in Armenia, namely “Ararat Cement” and “Hrazdan Cement”, are facing the risk of closure.

The reason is the significant volume of cement being imported from neighboring Iran, which has led to a considerable decrease in the sales of local cement. Although the legislative initiative proposed by the government to raise the customs duties on imported cement was approved yesterday in the National Assembly’s permanent commission on economic issues, another problem persists: the key raw material used for cement production, imported clinker, is exempt from state duties.

Experts assert that producing cement from cheap clinker is not a complicated process; however, this raises the issue of job cuts since many employees will have no work if raw materials are imported, and moreover, the imported materials are of inferior quality. Currently, companies involved in cement production are preparing to negotiate with the government on this matter.

For more details, please refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.