Oman’s largest cement manufacturer, Raysut Cement Company (RCC), has received certifications to support its plans to export to the European Union. The Muscat-listed company said the certifications comes at a time when it is expanding exports to new markets globally. Currently, 50 percent of the company’s output is exported to East Africa, India, Maldives, South Africa, and Indian Ocean islands. “We consider CE and NF certifications as a testimony to our commitment to constantly improve product quality and processes in line with rigorous global safety, quality and environmental regulations,” said group CEO Joey Ghose. The CE (Conformité Européenne) mark, is mandatory for selling certain products in the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1985 while the NF mark is a French compliance norm.
"The certifications fit into our export strategy for newer geographies as the CE mark that endorses compliance with EU’s health, safety and green regulations allows us to market our products in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway,” said Ghose. Winning the certifications also coincided with RCC clinching a new export order from the Reunion Islands in the western Indian Ocean, and an annual contract has already been signed with Enterprise Audemard Group of the French island to ship 8,000 MT cement every month. The company said it is also looking at setting up a grinding unit in Madagascar to leverage the 7-8 percent annual growth in that country’s market.
RCC added that it has a current output of 6 million metric tonnes of cement, slated to increase to 10 million by 2022, and later to 22 million tonnes. Ghose admitted the Covid-19 pandemic had thrown a major challenge to the business but has also won certifications from other parts of the world boosting its export scope including India and South Africa.