Saudi Arabia has renewed its ban on cement exports, after partially lifting it in 2009, due to rising demand at home where multi-billion infrastructure projects are under way, state news agency SPA reported Monday. "The Ministry of Commerce announced its decision to stop exporting cement and clinker in compliance with its regulations which require meeting the demands of the local market, having sufficient supply, and stability in local prices," the statement said. Domestic prices of the building material soared in 2008 when Saudi Arabia faced a cement shortage as companies exported large quantities for higher profits, leading the government to impose an export ban which it partially lifted a year later. In May 2009 companies which fulfilled certain requirements set by the Ministry of Commerce were allowed to export a portion of their cement, an option they no longer have. Demand for cement in the biggest Arab economy is seen at 48 million tons in 2011, rising to 52 million by 2013, Safar Dhufayer, chief executive of Southern Province Cement Company (SPCC) said in October. Saudi Arabia is undergoing infrastructure projects worth over $400 billion, including plans to build 500,000 new homes. Cement makers outside the western region, including Abha- based Southern Province Cement Co., are required to regularly supply that area, Ahmed Bin Abdul Rahman, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on the ministry's website today.
