Displaying items by tag: Price
Chilean cement sales contract in first half of 2024
18 October 2024Chile: The combined cement sales of Cbb, Melón and Polpaico continued a three-year decline with a 4% year-on-year drop in the first half of 2024, to 1.83Mt. In terms of market shares, Polpaico retained 40%, Melón 34% and Cbb 26%. Noticias Financieras News has reported that low domestic demand caused the fall in sales. Despite the general downturn, Cbb succeeded in more than doubling its profit to US$18.5m, by increasing its shipments of cement, which offset a decline in concrete sales.
Polpaico said "During the second quarter of 2024, the cement and concrete industry in Chile continued to face significant challenges, reflected in a slowdown in the construction sector." It added that there was ‘constant price competition’ exacerbated by an ‘abnormal volume of rainfall’ in June 2024.
Melón said "There has been a slowdown in projects under development compared to previous periods. On the other hand, production and distribution costs have continued to be under pressure, which in this period are mainly related to the increase in the exchange rate."
CIMAF to increase production capacity at Chad plant
22 July 2024Chad: The Group Cement of Africa (CIMAF) plans to raise the production capacity of its Chad cement plant from 0.5Mt/yr to 0.7Mt/yr. Anas Sefrioui, President of CIMAF, conveyed this intention to Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, with the intention to meet market demands, reduce costs and create jobs. Sefrioui also announced that the official price of cement bags from the plant will be revised to alleviate public costs. The CIMAF cement plant in Lamadji, north of N'Djamena, commenced operations in June 2017.
Nigeria: The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives is investigating the sharp rise in cement prices in the country. Major industry players, including Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa, must submit detailed production cost documents to justify the market price of cement. The committee plans to visit the production plants after reviewing these financial records to establish the cost of production and determine a fair price for cement. The inquiry covers production costs from 2020 to July 2024.
One committee member pointed out that Dangote Cement has continued to make significant profits despite sourcing most of its raw materials locally, and questioned why the price of cement keeps rising whilst producers continue to profit. In response, Dangote Cement’s Managing Director, Mr Arvind Pathack, attributed 95% of production costs to imports or foreign exchange impacts, noting significant increases in input costs and logistical challenges exacerbated by the poor state of infrastructure and foreign exchange limitations. The committee called for a review of company policies to potentially lower prices, criticising the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCC)’s inactivity in addressing the pricing issue.
Chair of the Committee, Jonathan Gaza, said “We are extremely hopeful that this engagement will lead to a reduction in the price of cement. FCCPC has slept on their functions so far; their inactivity and unresponsiveness to price is what has put Nigeria where we are today.”
Nigerian government considering allowing imports of cement
21 February 2024Nigeria: The Federal Government has warned cement producers that it is considering allowing cement imports into the country in response to high local prices. Arc Ahmed Dangiwa, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, made the comment at an emergency meeting held with cement and building materials manufacturers in Abuja following a doubling of the price of bags of cement, according to the Vanguard newspaper. Manufacturers have blamed the price rises on the increasing cost of gas, the cost of mining equipment, negative currency exchange rate effects and the poor state of the country’s roads. However, Dangiwa noted that many of the raw materials they use - including limestone, clay, silica sand and gypsum - are sourced locally.
The government is preparing to set up a committee - comprising representatives of each cement company, the Cement Manufactures of Nigeria Association and the relevant ministries, to find ways of tackling the high price of cement.
Armenian government extends cement imports ban
03 January 2024Armenia: The government has extended a temporary ban on imports of cement until the end of June 2024. The government says that the measure will help to re-establish competition between local cement producers and importers. NEWS.am has reported that Armenia produced 965,000t of cement during the first 10 months of 2023, up by 20% year-on-year. Meanwhile, in the first nine months of the year, cement imports grew by a factor of five, to 173,000t. Imports of clinker also rose, by 33% to 97,700t. The government attributed the growth of imports to rising cement demand and prices in Armenia during 2023.
Zimbabwe government allows licence-free import of up to 5t of cement
16 November 2023Zimbabwe: The government has enacted new rules according to which companies and individuals may import up to 100 50kg bags of bagged cement without an import licence. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that the measure aims to alleviate an on-going shortage. The government previously indicated that it would ease restrictions on cement imports for the first time since 2021 after prices doubled year-on-year on 7 November 2023.
Soyuzcement warns of 30% price rise in 2024
15 November 2023Russia: Soyuzcement has warned the government that the cost of cement could rise by up to 30% year-on-year in 2024 due to mounting energy, logistics and staffing costs. The national cement manufacturing union has informed various departments and agencies - including the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Construction and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) - that this price rise will follow a 23 - 30% production cost inflation reported in 2023, according to the Kommersant newspaper. Other contributing factors have included negative currency exchange effects leading to a 20% rise in the cost of certain imported equipment items as well as logistic issues stemming from a shortage of drivers and declining fleet levels. Separate analysis by Kommersant estimates that the rising cost of cement in 2023 led to a 10 - 15% increase in the overall cost of construction in 2023.
East African Portland Cement raises prices
28 September 2023Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPCC) has raised the price of its 50kg bags of cement by around 3%. It said that it made the decision due to higher input costs, according to the Standard newspaper. In a statement David Kilonzo, acting head of commercial at EAPCC, said “Due to the continuous surge in raw materials prices, operating overheads and our commitment to maintain the premium brand quality that our customers have enjoyed over the years, we will be revising our prices upwards.”
Switzerland-based Holcim holds a 42% stake in EAPC through its subsidiaries, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) holds a 27% stake and the Kenyan government, through the National Treasury, holds a 25% share in the company.
Togolese government denies cement price rise
26 September 2023Togo: The Ministry of Commerce has denied that it has authorised a change in the price of cement. In a press release it confirmed that the ex-factory prices it set in late October 2021 remained in force, according to 24heureinfo. It reminded cement traders of this and provided a 24-hour telephone number for consumers to report any abnormal trading practices.
The ministry was responding to reports on social media channels about an increase to the price of cement. CimTogo said recently that it had adjusted its price structure in mid-September 2023 but not breached the price limits set by the government.
South African cement industry’s capacity utilisation drops below 60% in 2023 financial year
18 September 2023South Africa: The cement industry produced 13Mt of cement during the 2023 financial year, which ended on 31 March 2023. This corresponds to a capacity utilisation rate of 59% across its 22Mt/yr installed capacity. The Business Day newspaper has reported that the industry competes in the domestic market against imports that are 40% lower in price.