EU import figures show the bloc received 14.24 million tonnes of cement and clinker under Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) product codes in 2025, worth about 1.08 billion euros. Türkiye supplied 6.12 million tonnes, Ukraine 1.89 million tonnes and Algeria 1.70 million tonnes. The value was modest compared with steel or aluminium, but the physical trade flow was large for a relatively low-value commodity.
For cement buyers, commercial importance depends on volumes, plant technology and transport economics, not border value alone. CBAM adds a variable linked to production emissions and the EU carbon price to EU importers’ procurement calculations. The emissions evidence required depends on the applicable product code and production process.
Clinker is an intermediate product made in high-temperature kilns and later ground with other components to produce cement. An EU grinding plant importing clinker may be the direct importer and first industrial beneficiary; its customers can include concrete companies, precast producers and contractors. Alternatively, an integrated group may import finished cement through a terminal and distribute it to construction markets.
Cementir Holding’s 2025 annual report describes increased exports of white cement from Egypt, including shipments to France, and a European business with French operations. The disclosure documents a production-to-market corridor, but does not identify the legal declarant or the final construction project receiving a particular consignment. Establishing claims about specific CBAM certificates would require the customs and emissions record.
Procurement also depends on port costs, inland freight, grinding capacity, seasonal demand and the competitive position of domestic kilns. Suppliers offering traceable lower-emissions clinker or efficient manufacturing processes may gain a commercial advantage, although the effect differs across the market and over time.
An assessment for investors and construction groups could link origin-country production to EU port terminals, grinding plants and concrete customers. It would track quantities, plant-specific fuel and process emissions, product specifications, and the importer’s ability to allocate any additional expense through supply contracts.
The most competitive supply chain is not necessarily the one with the cheapest ex-works clinker, but one offering the most competitive delivered and verified product.