Turkey's cement exports on rise

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's cement exports rose 6.9 percent to reach around 8 million tons, year-on-year, in 2017, the Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association (TCMB) announced on Tuesday.

"9.9 percent of all produced cement was exported during the January-December period," TCMB said in a press release.

Turkey produced 81 million tons of cement and clinker -- stony residue from burnt cement -- in the year, rising 6.8 percent compared with the previous year, it added.

The association highlighted that most cement and clinker exports were made to the U.S. during the year, while the country with the highest increase in Turkey's cement exports was Haiti.

The cement sector's number of employee is around 12,000, and the country's annual cement and clinker production capacity is around 220 million tons.