THE CERAMIC INDUSTRY IN IRAQ:THE REALITY AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT WITH RE FERENCE TO ANBAR GOVCRNORATE

Abstract

The Ceramic industry is one of the constructional industries that contribute to the development of the construction sector. The quick scan of the Iraqi market shows that there are large quantities of ceramic products of different types and specifications of different measurements. It shows too that the demand continues to increase, particularly in recent years due to the reconstruction and the high level of per capita income. Iraq is one of the oldest manufacturers of ceramic products, but that the Iraqi state did not pay attention to the industry though a large proportion of the raw materials needed for production are available locally in very large quantities and better qualities of the world as well as the availability of skilled manpower in this field. It is worth mentioning that the Anbar province has three plants (Sanitary ware, Wall Tiles, Floor Tiles) for the production of ceramic materials founded before the occupation. These plants, owned by the General Company for Glass and Ceramics in Ramadi, are the only plants in Iraq and they stopped production since 2003. It is concluded that Iraqis full ofmany of themineralsand raw materials, which are concentratedmostly inAnbar provinceand representthe basicbackboneofthe ceramic industryin the province. But the results ofestimatingdemand show that there isa cleardeficitin the production ofceramicmaterialsto meetthe threetypes ofincreasing demand for thesematerials.Thedomestic demand forsanitary wareandWalls andFloors Tiles for the year 2013was (16,357) tons (11,546,160) m 2(15,394,880) m 2, respectively, which meansthat theproduction capacitiesavailable forthe threeplantscover only(27.5%) (10.5%), (6.5%). While in theyear 2023, the percentage of the production ofthe threelaboratoriesofdomestic demandis(sanitary ware, 9.21%), (Tiles walls, 8.4%) and (Tiles floors, 5.2%). So, the study is encouraging for the rehabilitation ofthe production ofceramicprojectsin the province ofAnbar, as well asthe establishment ofnew projects that have the potentialto bridge theshortfallin the demand forthisproduct. The results ofthe application of value criteria show that the three projects are economically useful, but the Wall Tiles project is more useful than the other two projects. In addition, the three projects are not substitutes for they are all urgently needed, but in case of the failure of funding the rehabilitation of all the plants, so it is preferable to start with the Wall Tiles plant.