Displaying items by tag: Ghanaian Ministry of Trade and Industry

Ghana: A nine-member committee has been established to monitor and coordinate the local cement industry in Ghana, in line with the Manufacture of Cement Regulations (LI 2480).

The committee, inaugurated in Accra on 5 April 2024, is chaired by Professor Alex Dodoo of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA). Other members include representatives from the GSA, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Institution of Engineering, Association of Ghana Industries, Chamber of Cement Manufacturers of Ghana, and an expert in cement production nominated by the Minister.

During the inauguration, Trade and Industry Minister Kobina Hammond said “The committee will appraise, evaluate and approve local content and local participation plans and reports of cement manufacturing entities. They will also promote the production, wholesale and retail of cement and cement components.”

According to LI 2480, there is a requirement for manufacturers of cement to register with the Committee. Regulation 11 in LI 2480 state that ‘A person shall not manufacture cement in the country unless the person registers with the Cement Manufacturing Development Committee in accordance with these Regulations.’ The regulations state that a person who did not register with the Cement Manufacturing Development Committee to manufacture cement shall not be granted a licence to manufacture cement under these regulations.

Ghana: Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the Minister of Trade and Industry, has proposed legislation to parliament to cap imports of cement into the country. Spio-Garbrah also announced that all cement importers must register with the ministry by 31 March 2016 to apply for a permit, according to the Daily Trust.

"The Ministry of Trade and Industry proposes through legislative instrument to impose a ceiling on the annual importation of cement into Ghana. Companies that wish to import bagged cement shall be issued a permit to avoid the chaos that has lately saddled the sector," the ministry said in a statement. Companies legitimately licensed under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme will be exempt from applying for permits.

Ghana has a cement production capacity of 9Mt/yr but it only consumes 6Mt/yr giving it an excess of 3Mt/yr. However the country imports over 1Mt/yr of cement. Complaints about cement imports from Nigeria and China have been made in local press since the start of 2016.

Ghana: The Ghanaian Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has announced that it will investigate Dangote Cement's operations, following allegations of predatory pricing made by Diamond Cement, according to the This Day newspaper. A ministry spokesman said that it was looking at the 'price of input' in manufacturing cement.

"There was no way Dangote could produce in Nigeria, bring goods into Ghana, pay tariffs and still sell at a price lower than Diamond Cement," said Ahmad Nasir, Deputy Communications Manager at the MTI. Diamond Cement are reported to have complained that competition from Dangote has reduced its cement production from 1.8 million bags to 1.3 million bags.