Gypsum industry news
New 5% import duty shrinks gypsum export volumes to Bangladesh 06 October 2015
Bhutan/Bangladesh: Gypsum exports from Bhutan to Bangladesh have declined substantially after a 5% duty was levied on the mineral in July 2015.
Figures from RSA Private Limited in Phuentsholing revealed a drastic drop in the last two months. RSA exported gypsum worth US$12,049 in August 2015 and US$24,781 in July 2015. In January 2015, RSA had recorded exports worth US$111,952. RSA is the principal company that exports gypsum to Bangladesh from Bhutan. There are about four manufacturers in the country that route their gypsum to Bangladesh through RSA.
According to the bilateral trade agreement signed between the two countries, gypsum is one of the 18 products from Bhutan that is exempted from paying tax in Bangladesh. However, the new tariff schedule the government of Bangladesh published for 2015 - 2016 specified that only importers registered as a supplier for agricultural products were exempted from this tax. All other establishments that imported gypsum from Bhutan for other purposes were levied a 5% tax. Since the gypsum exported from the country is not used as fertiliser, the number of importers has decreased in Bangladesh, disrupting demand and supply. Gypsum from Bhutan is imported mostly by cement manufacturing companies in Bangladesh.
The general secretary with Bhutan Exporters Association (BEA) Tshering Yeshi said that the harmonised system code notified by Bangladesh in July 2015 contradicted the existing code as per the bilateral trade agreement. "We discussed this issue during the joint sitting customs commission meeting in July 2015," said Yeshi, adding that the representatives from Bangladesh said that they would look into the matter immediately. However, there has been no developments to date. The bilateral trade agreement between the two countries allows 90 products from Bangladesh free of tax, while 18 products from Bhutan are duty free in Bangladesh.
India: Rajasthan's suspended mining secretary Ashok Singhvi, who was arrested for allegedly running a massive bribery racket, was instrumental in throwing open Rajasthan's gypsum reserves, which are the largest in the country, to indiscriminate mining.
On 17 August 2014, the mines department headed by Singhvi de-reserved gypsum mining in Rajasthan, ending the exclusive gypsum mining rights enjoyed by state-owned Rajasthan Mines and Minerals Ltd (RSMM). According to documents recently accessed by local press, the mines department threw open some 28.3km2 of gypsum mines without inviting applications or notifying specific mining zones, in clear violation of the centre's 30 October 2014 guidelines. Several of the leases were granted on 12 January 2015, one day before the central government promulgated the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015, which ended discretionary bases of awarding leases and made auction the sole method of allotment.
The guidelines, issued to curb illegal mining, intended to provide greater transparency in the use of natural resources. However, documents show that the Rajasthan Mines Department granted 15 gypsum mining leases against applications dated before 17 August 2014, when gypsum mining was the exclusive right of RSMM and no applications for its mining could have been entertained from anyone else. Some applications dated as far back as 8 May 2012, more than three years before gypsum was de-reserved for mining by private companies. This meant that leases were granted to 'favourites' on back-dated applications so they could qualify on a 'first come, first served' basis. Leases were hurriedly awarded on this basis to avoid running into the new MMDR ordinance, which came in to effect on 13 January 2015 and mandated the auction route for granting leases.
Gypsum exports from Monroe Port in Michigan increase 06 October 2015
US: The Port of Monroe in Michigan has been busy exporting gypsum since 4 September 2015, according to Paul C LaMarre III, port director. Five consecutive gypsum loads will leave the port in less than two weeks. Most of the activity takes place at night. The first four loads for USG Corp will be shipped to Port Colborne, Ontario, while the fifth load, for Lafarge, is headed for Alpena.
"Last year, we shipped two loads and this year we will have shipped 10, with more on the horizon," said LaMarre said. The port is also 'very close' to executing a gypsum management agreement with DTE Energy, in which the port will manage and market the gypsum produced. "This would be the first such agreement of its kind between a public port and a public utility," said LaMarre. The Port of Monroe moved more than 2.4Mt of cargo through its shipping channel in 2014, shattering the record for the second time in a row.