Spain: The government has established a Euro450m funding line for gas-intensive industries that struggled with high gas prices during 2022. The Boletín Oficial del Estado newspaper has reported that the gypsum industry is among those included. Companies can draw on up to Euro4m in relief. For those which recorded a drop of 30% or greater in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation, relief of up to Euro25m is available.

Kazakhstan: Germany-based Knauf has signed a deal with the government of the Zhambyl region to build a gypsum wallboard and dry building mixtures plant. The project has a cost of around Euro30m, according to InterFax. Completion is scheduled by 2026. Local subsidiary Knauf Gips Taraz is now developing design and estimate documentation for the construction of necessary infrastructure. Products from the proposed plant will be sold in the domestic market. The project is one of nine agreements between organisations from Germany and Kazakhstan announced during an official visit by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Oman: Producers and exporters despatched 9.9Mt of gypsum from Oman in 2022. The figure corresponds to year-on-year growth of 13% from 8.74Mt in 2021. The Oman Daily Observer newspaper has reported that India received 4.84Mt (49%) of Omani gypsum exports during the year. This accounts for 87% of the South Asian nation's total gypsum imports, of 5.54Mt, in 2022. The total figure shows a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% between 2009 and 2022. The market's forecast CAGR up to 2037 is 5.2%.

The Indian cement industry, which reportedly relies on the dwindling domestic stock of phosphogypsum, is anticipated an anticipated source of continued growth in demand.

US: Albér Gypsum has developed an adhesive gypsum-based plaster ‘board’ product that can be used in place of traditional gypsum wallboard. Using the new process gypsum powder is first mixed with water into a mixture lightweight cement sprayer. The company has also designed a special spray gun for this purpose. The plaster is then sprayed onto the wall construction or/and insulation, evened out and left to dry for up to six hours. A patent is currently pending for the new method.

The developer says that the gypsum-based plaster product eliminates air pockets in a wall, covers electrical wires and tubes thereby reducing fire risk and is stronger than traditional wallboard. It takes half the installation time of regular wallboard and does not require fittings such as bolts or nails. The company says that the sprayable plaster creates less waste, is easily recyclable and does not use paper. Not using paper also prevents any cases of black mould. The gypsum mix used can be modified to create a harder or softer surface depending on the desired room acoustics.