Russia seeks to limit Belarusian cement imports

Cemros (owned by Oleg Deripaska) has announced measures to restrict imports and seek anti-dumping protections to defend domestic cement producers.

• Main action: Cemros will switch to a four-day work week starting October 1, 2025, and is proposing five-year anti-dumping duties and import limits to protect local producers; the industry proposal seeks to cap imports at 1.5 million tons per year, which would free up at least 2 million tons of additional load for domestic capacities.
• Background/details: Market oversupply is attributed mainly to Belarusian cement plus supplies from Kazakhstan, Iran, China, and Vietnam; imports have nearly tripled over the past five years while domestic consumption rose by less than 16%, and foreign volumes now match the annual production of several Russian plants, risking a 10–15% market decline in 2025 from the 2024 demand level of about 67 million tons.