Iran’s 3-month cement, clinker exports exceed 5m tons

TEHRAN,July 14(MNA) - Iran exported over 5.07 million tons of cement and clinker in spring 2014, which corresponds to the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year. Iran exported over 1.203 million tons of cement and 398,798 tons of clinker in the third Iranian calendar month of Khordad (May 22-June 21). In the manufacture of Portland cement, clinker is lumps or nodules, usually 3–25 mm in diameter, produced by sintering limestone and alumino-silicate (clay) during the cement kiln stage. Iran exported around 18 million tons of cement in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2014. In the past Iranian year, Iran exported cement to 24 countries, including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Oman, India, and China. The country ranked first in the Middle East and third in the world in terms of cement exports.