Basra’s Difaf Al-Khaleej cement bag factory boosts local jobs and plans production expansion

BASRA — Difaf Al-Khaleej Cement Bag Company, located in Khor Al-Zubair, Basra, is the first of its kind in the area, meeting the demand for cement packaging in southern Iraq while also supplying cities like Najaf, Babil, and Baghdad. The factory has a production capacity of up to 8 million cement bags per month.

The facility has created numerous jobs for Iraqis while also relying on expertise from the United States, India, and Pakistan. According to Production Manager Maitham Finjan, the company plans to expand production next year to include bags for food items such as vegetables, meat, baked goods, spices, and fruits.

Finjan explained that the factory, equipped with modern Japanese machinery, was established in 2019 and began operations in 2022, producing high-quality 50-kilogram cement bags using raw materials imported from Sweden, Spain, and Finland. Adhesives and inks are sourced annually from the Netherlands and Germany through Iraqi ports.

The manufacturing process involves multiple stages, beginning with a machine that forms the paper bag without a base, followed by a shaping machine that applies the base and a printing machine for the final step.

Mohammed Anjum, an Indian engineer at the factory, noted that the company uses advanced machinery. “We import raw materials such as paper, glue, and ethylene from top suppliers in the Netherlands, Egypt, and other countries, producing bags in four different colors,” he explained.