Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Iran's cement exports through Turkmenistan's territory have faced a problem.

The customs administration of Turkmenistan has blocked importing Iranian cement consignments, Azerbaijan's Trend news agency reported with reference to Khorasan Persian language newspaper.

An Iranian administration official has urged the country's foreign ministry to address the issue and eliminate the problem as soon as possible.

Turkmenistan is the third biggest importer of Iranian cement. Its share in the total imports is 7 percent.

It was reported earlier that Iran exported over $822 million worth of cement and related products during the first 11 months of the past Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2012-February 18, 2013). A 35 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous year was reported.

The exports amounted to 10.4 million tons, posting a 27 percent growth.

Iran exported cement products to 24 countries, including Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, which are the main importers.

In late December 2012, Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Deputy Minister Vajiollah Jafari said that by reaching annual output capacity of 115 million tons, Iran will become the world's third largest cement producer in the coming years.

Iran also plans to export 12 million tons of cement in the current calendar year.

According to Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari, Iran's cement production capacity will reach 110 million tons by 2015.