Gypsum industry news

Oman: Gypsum exports from Oman rose by 28% year-on-year to 9.47Mt in 2018 from 7.4Mt in 2017. Major destinations of gypsum included Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Japan and Indonesia. The country’s gypsum producers exported 3Mt to Vietnam, 2.9Mt to India and 1.25Mt to Bangladesh in 2018.

US/China: The Office of the US Trade Representative has started implementing a 10% tariff on mineral and other products from China, including gypsum products, following a consultation period. Mineral products affected by the proposed tariffs of interest to the gypsum wallboard industry include gypsum, anhydrite and plaster products made from calcined gypsum or calcium sulphate. Lime, cements and additives for cements, mortars and concretes are also affected.

The latest tariff list follows an earlier decision by the US government to tax imports from China worth US$34bn that came into force in early July 2018.

Mauritania: Mauritania exported 100,000t of gypsum in 2017 to markets in West and Central Africa. It was sent to Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the Pan African News Agency. The country produces 200,000t/yr of gypsum, of which 15% is turned into plaster. The remaining 85% is used by the local cement industry or exported by land to Mali or by sea via the Port of Nouakchott.

Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d’Algérie’s (GICA) is in discussions to export gypsum. The Algerian cement producer has announced plans to export up to 1.5Mt of cement in 2018, according to the Algeria Press Service. The company handles its exports via the ports of Arzew and Djendjen.

India/Pakistan: Raw gypsum exports are growing at the Wagah border crossing between Pakistan and India. Around 3000t/day or 80 trucks of gypsum cross the border into India, according to the Nation newspaper. Exports have been increasing due to demand from Indian importers. Most of the commodity is used to make cement although it is also used to produce fertiliser and make plaster products such as gypsum wallboard.

Oman: Oman exported 6.76Mt of gypsum from January to November 2017. This compared to 4.86Mt from Thailand, according to Ramachandran, Director of USG Boral Zawawi Gypsum, an Oman-based producer and exporter of gypsum. This potentially marks a change to the gypsum export market in 2016 when Thailand exported 6.29Mt and Oman exported 5.6Mt. Other leading exporters in 2016 included Spain, Iran and Mexico.

Oman: A significant increase in the quantity of gypsum exported by Oman has helped the country to become the world’s leading exporter of gypsum. Shipments reached a record 6.32Mt during the first 10 months of 2017. Exports for 2017 are projected to top 7.30Mt, up from 5.65Mt a year earlier.

By contrast, the long-standing crude gypsum export leader Thailand has seen exports plummet in the wake of its decision to limit outflows of the commodity in favour of the south-east Asian nation’s thriving domestic gypsum and cement industries. Its exports are estimated to come to around 5Mt by the end of 2017, versus a record-setting 6.26Mt in 2016.

The rapid development of Oman as a gypsum export hub bodes well for the development of other mineral processing sectors in the country, according to Ramachandran, Director of USG Boral Zawawi Gypsum, one of Oman’s leading producers and exporters of gypsum.

“Considering that gypsum exports from the Sultanate were non-existent barely a decade ago, I think we have come a long way in a short time,” he said. “With improved cooperation and coordination among the exporters, suitably supervised by the Public Authority of Mining (PAM), the Sultanate can build on this landmark achievement and enhance non-oil export revenue growth from this promising economic industry.”

Ramachandran added that Oman’s large reserves and its geographic position serves it well to benefit from increasing gypsum consumption in the coming years. It is now the most important source of gypsum for at least 15 countries in Asia and Africa, including India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Kenya and Mozambique. By far the largest importer is India, which takes around 35% of the gypsum that Oman exports.

Oman: Hilal bin Mohammed al-Busaidi, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Public Authority for Mining (PAM), predicts that Oman is set to become the largest exporter of gypsum by the end of 2017. Its gypsum exports are expected to exceed 10Mt in 2018 from 4.6Mt in 2016, according to the Oman News Agency. So far the country has exported 6.1Mt in the first nine months of 2017.

PAM says that Oman has 1Bnt of reserves of gypsum. These are concentrated in the southern part of the country and in some northern regions notably in Al Shuwaimiyah, Thumrait, Sadah, Ghaba and Buraimi. The principal export markets for the product are India, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Tanzania: Knauf plans to invest an additional US$5m in a production site in Mkuranga district. The German company has already invested US$10m into the unit, according to the Citizen newspaper. The company started operations in the country in 2014 and it employs over 150 people. It is its first unit in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Zachopoulos Georgios, the managing director for East Africa, said that the subsidiary sources most of its raw materials locally and that it mines gypsum in the south of the country. He added that the company is focusing on promoting regular gypsum boards of 9mm and 12mm and boards of 12.5mm for moisture-resistance and fire resistance for the East African region. It will also offer other products from its portfolio, including related powder, steel sections, screws and tape offerings. The company exports 8% of its production at present and it hopes to increase this to 20 – 30% in the coming years.

Oman: Exports of gypsum rose by 29% year-on-year to 3.29Mt in the first five months of 2017 from 2.55Mt in the same period in 2016. The boost in export volumes mainly arose in April and May 2017, according to data from the Oman Gypsum Association. Data from the Department of Primary Industries and Mines (DPIM) in Thailand suggests that gypsum exports have fallen from that country so far in 2017. Omani gypsum producers hope to take advantage of a growing supply deficit in Asian export markets.