RIYADH, Jan 08 (Arab News): Saudi Arabia and Belarus are set to bolster their trade and investment ties with the signing of a new memorandum of understanding.
The MoU, signed between the Federation of Saudi Chambers and Belarus’ National Center for Marketing and Price Studies, includes exchanging information related to trade, investments, production, and export opportunities.
This will support Saudi Arabia and Belarus-based companies to expand targeted markets, organize joint research activities in marketing to improve trade prospects, and further explore areas of cooperation.
Meanwhile, Saudi Cement took the lead among five firms from the Kingdom that collectively exported 90,000 tonnes of cement in December 2023, according to the latest industry data.
Based in the Eastern Province, the manufacturer exported about 56,000 tonnes during the last month of 2023, according to an analysis released by Yamama Cement Co.
On the domestic sales front, eight companies saw an increase in their transactions, with Arabian Cement leading the way with a 55.9 per cent rise, closely followed by Umm Al-Qura Cement with a 51.2 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2022.
Meanwhile, nine companies witnessed a decrease in their sales, with Northern Region Cement leading with a 50.6 per cent fall and United Cement Industrial Co. with a drop of 46.9 per cent.
The total sales of Saudi cement firms, comprising 17 companies, decreased by 5 per cent during December 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
According to the data, sales in December 2023 reached 4.39 million tonnes, down from 4.62 million tonnes achieved in the same month of 2022.
For clinker manufacturing, the analysis showed a 0.9 per cent decrease in the companies’ production in December 2023, reaching 5.07 million tons compared to 5.12 million for the corresponding month in 2022.
Meanwhile, clinker inventories reached 39.9 million tons at the end of December 2023, marking a 13.9 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2022, when it was 35.1 million tonnes.
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