According to the data provided by the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade, Iran produced 31.15 million tons of cement in the same period in the year before.
The country's cement production capacity is 85 million tons, of which 65 million tons is consumed domestically.
Iran is now one of the seven largest cement producers in the world.
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year, Iran has exported 5,847,201 tons of cement worth more than $127.9 million to 28 countries.
In the said time, India, Afghanistan, Russia, Iraq, Qatar, Kenya, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, and Oman were among the export destinations of cement.
Iran has exported about $7 billion worth of construction materials in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2020), previous reports say.
Iran’s massive mining and metals sector has expanded in recent years mainly because the US sanctions on the oil industry have led to more focus on other sectors.
The government has also raised tariffs on exports of raw minerals as it seeks increased local production of products with more added-value.
That comes despite a decision by Washington in May 2019 to introduce a series of comprehensive bans on Iran’s trade of metals.
However, the bans have largely failed to disrupt the outflow of Iranian products like steel and copper as customers find them increasingly competitive compared to regional and international rivals.
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