Russian cement producer Cemros suspends sites as imports squeeze domestic market

Cemros, Russia's largest cement company, said that rising imports were squeezing domestic suppliers, forcing producers to cut output as demand weakens.

The company temporarily suspended production at several sites in mid-2025 amid softer demand and intensifying competition from foreign suppliers.

Production at Belgorod Cement in the Belgorod region was halted, while the Stary Oskol site continues to operate. Cemros is gradually idling its Ulyanovsk branch and has shifted its Lipetsk plant to a limited mode, suspending clinker production while maintaining grinding, packaging and laboratory operations, the company said in a statement Jan. 19.

"The suspensions reflect weak regional demand alongside rising imports," said Denis Usoltsev, director of marketing and strategic analysis at Cemros, for the first time. He added that "a similar downturn in 2014-2018 led to the withdrawal of six full-cycle plants and the freezing of around 30 million mt of capacity."

According to the statement, preliminary estimates show Russian cement demand fell 9% in 2025 to about 60.6 million metric tons, down more than 6 million mt year over year.

"This has effectively pushed the market back to 2020-2021 levels seen during COVID-19 restrictions," Usoltsev said, adding that "mild late-year weather helped limit the depth of the decline."

Despite surplus capacity, Russia imports around 4 million mt/year of cement, mainly from Belarus and Iran.

More than 60 plants operate nationwide with total capacity above 80 million mt/year, while consumption in 2024-25 stood at roughly 60-67 million mt, leaving large volumes of unused capacity, Cemros said.

"Imports, often priced aggressively, are displacing domestic producers, particularly in central Russia, border regions and the south," Usoltsev said.

Lower output has lifted unit costs and complicated logistics, as producers are forced to ship cement over longer distances, adding pressure to prices as companies seek to offset lost volumes, according to the statement.

Cemros has previously called on the Russian government to impose short-term limits on cement imports to protect domestic producers, proposing a cap of no more than 1.5 million mt/year to maintain production capacity amid a downturn in demand.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, last assessed CEMDEX Turkey at $54/mt FOB on Jan. 15.