Cement industry officials have been lobbying the government for well over a year now for financial assistance so they can expand their exports to new markets, Africa in particular. Iranian producers have been forced to retreat from Iraq and Afghanistan lately due to the neighboring countries’ protectionist measures imposed for shielding local producers from foreign competition. The Iranian cement industry boasts an output capacity of about 90 million tons, only 56% of which are used in the local market, according to Financial Tribune. Exports, the only way out of a domestic demand deadlock, stand at a maximum of 7-8 million tons and in the best-case scenario can reach 10 million tons by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2018), the Cement Employers Association said.