# Cement: Trading

Regional list prices, few giants and a cartel history

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/trading/

What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.

Cement has no futures market. It is sold by producers to ready-mix firms and contractors at regional list prices, often with announced annual increases. A few multinationals dominate many markets, and the industry has a long record of cartel cases. Seaborne cement and clinker are priced in bilateral deals, and price-reporting agencies such as Argus publish seaborne cement and clinker assessments. Mergers keep reshaping the US industry. In 2025 a Swiss group spun off its North American business, and a German group bought a Mexican producer's US assets.

#### Where it is bought (buyers)

- Ready-mix producers, precasters and contractors buy bulk cement under supply contracts
- In India, dealers and retailers sell bagged cement to individual builders; institutional buyers tender for large projects
- The US is the largest importer (24.1% of 2024 world import value, about 25 Mt), followed by France, the Philippines, the Netherlands and Italy (UN Comtrade)

#### Where it is sold (sellers)

- Integrated producers sell into regional markets around their plants
- Turkey (12.0% of 2024 export value), Egypt (9.1%), Germany (6.7%), Canada (5.8%) and Spain (4.5%) lead exports (UN Comtrade)
- Indonesia, Japan and Pakistan export 8-12 Mt each at average unit values of $31-36/t, low enough to suggest mostly clinker (2024 UN Comtrade)

#### Exchanges and benchmarks

| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **None** | No futures contract on any major exchange, including MCX | Prices are local and bilateral |

#### Contract types

- Bagged retail sales through dealer networks (India trade segment)
- Bulk supply contracts with ready-mix and precast firms
- Government and infrastructure tenders
- Seaborne cement and clinker cargoes to terminals

#### Top trading houses

- No dominant trading houses; producers' own trading arms and terminal operators handle most seaborne trade

#### How prices are discovered

- Company realisations disclosed in quarterly results (India: Rs 4,779-5,555/t in Q4 FY2025)
- Dealer price surveys by ratings agencies and brokers (ICRA, CRISIL)
- USGS average mill value and customs unit values

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/cycles/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/links/index.md)