Worldwide, the leading use of gypsum is in the manufacture of cement and concrete, cement manufacture account around 60% of worldwide gypsum consumption,

While plaster products and gypsum board account approximately 30% of all consumption, and the 10% use for various other applications like fertilizer, pharmaceutical etc.
Gypsum plays a very important role in controlling the rate of hardening of the cement. During the cement manufacturing process, around 5% of Gypsum is added in the final grinding process.
Gypsum will remain the primary source of cement commodity for decades to come. There is presently no substitute for Gypsum in the production of cement.