The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cement

  • Weak competition, others drive cement price hike

    Weak competition, others drive cement price hike

    A new report by policy think tank Agora Policy has attributed the persistently high price of cement in Nigeria to weak competition and market concentration within the industry, despite the country achieving self-sufficiency in cement production more than a decade ago.

    The report noted that rising cement prices have significantly affected construction costs, limiting the delivery of affordable housing and slowing infrastructure development across the country.

    According to Agora Policy, Nigeria became formally self-sufficient in cement production in 2012, yet prices have remained elevated compared to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The report observed that industry profitability continues to exceed regional and international benchmarks.

    In September 2025, Nigerian cement producers recorded average core operating profit margins of about 49 per cent, an increase from roughly 34 per cent in 2024. Agora Policy said these margins are unusually high and suggest that consumers are not benefiting from increased production capacity

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    The report stressed that the expansion of production capacity by major manufacturers such as Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, and Lafarge WAPCO has not translated into lower prices for households, builders, or government-funded projects.

    Questioning the justification offered by cement manufacturers, the report highlighted that Nigerian producers sell cement at lower prices in some foreign markets.

    The report stated: “Producers attribute high domestic prices to taxes, energy costs, transport challenges, and financing constraints, arguing that exports are cheaper due to exemptions from certain levies.

    “However, this explanation raises a critical question: if costs are the main constraint, why are producers able to sell cement profitably abroad at lower prices than those paid by Nigerian consumers?”

    Agora Policy argued that the pricing gap suggests that market structure and pricing power play a major role in sustaining high cement prices in Nigeria.

    The report traced the roots of the current situation to policy decisions made in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Nigeria relied heavily on cement imports due to low domestic production. To address shortages, the government introduced import restrictions and investment incentives aimed at boosting local production and stabilising prices.

    These incentives included import protection, preferential access to foreign exchange, tax holidays, and exclusive limestone mining rights. According to the report, these measures were intended to be temporary and tied to affordable pricing outcomes.

    While Nigeria successfully achieved cement self-sufficiency by 2012 and installed capacity exceeded domestic demand, the report said the expected benefits of competition-driven pricing never materialised.

    Instead, the industry consolidated into what Agora Policy described as a highly concentrated oligopoly, with a few dominant firms controlling production, distribution, and pricing.

    “Cement is not an ordinary commodity. It is a critical input for housing, infrastructure, and industrial development,” the report noted, warning that persistently high prices undermine employment, productivity, and long-term economic growth.

    The report also assessed the Federal Government’s response to rising cement prices, including proposals to reopen import channels. It cautioned that cement imports are unlikely to offer lasting relief due to high transportation costs, limited global spare capacity, and the dominance of a few global producers.

    According to the report, import liberalisation would at best provide short-term relief and would not address the underlying competition issues in Nigeria’s cement market.

    As a long-term solution, Agora Policy recommended strengthening domestic competition rather than relying on imports. The report outlined five key policy measures, including ending exclusive control of limestone and clinker by a few firms and enforcing “use-it-or-lose-it” rules for mining licences.

    It also recommended separating cement production from distribution, allowing at least 30 per cent of cement sales to pass through independent third-party distributors to increase market access and consumer choice.

    Other proposals included enforcing antitrust measures to address regional dominance, mandating export pricing parity, and introducing automatic pro-competition triggers when plant utilisation falls below certain thresholds.

    The report further urged mandatory quarterly disclosures of plant capacity, ex-factory prices, and regional sales data to help regulators monitor pricing patterns and supply constraints.

    Agora Policy concluded by calling on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to establish a dedicated cement competition desk to oversee market power, limestone access, transport bottlenecks, and barriers to new entrants.

  • Magic cement?

    Magic cement?

    • Imagine houses which blocks can also generate electricity!

    Sheer magic? Houses in Nigeria’s rural outposts generating own electricity? Or bridges and roads in the city, dazzling with electricity at night, just because the “living” cement used to build them has soaked up enough solar power to discharge? Sheer magic?

    No. It’s the new building technology that grafts biology onto brick and mortar. It’s early days yet, but the world could soon welcome what the scientists call “energy-autonomous buildings and infrastructure.” 

    To use the technical-speak, as reported in “Living cement: scientists turn bacteria-infused cement into energy-storing super capacitors,”, AU Engineering, on the website ingenioer.au.dk: “house facades that double as batteries. Bridges that power their own sensors. Infrastructure that lives — and delivers energy.” Another world, where buildings and structures double as solar power banks, sans solar panels and batteries? It would appear so!

    What gave “life” to the inert, conventional cement is “Shewanella aneidensis”: a bacterium that can send electrons to external surfaces, by a process known as extra-cellular electron transfer. The electron is a sub-atom that possesses a charge of negative electricity. It’s the basic carrier of electricity in solids. 

    By fusing that energy-producing bacterium with conventional cement, the world may well be on the cusp of changing building technology forever. The relative affordability will, of course, depend on how costly the breakthrough is. But with patenting and mass scaling, economy of scale should push down the cost.

    That is the exciting prospects by a group of scientists at the Aarhus University (AU), Denmark, per a new study just published in Cell Press, a scientific journal, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

    ”We’ve combined structure with function,” enthused Qi Luo, the lead researcher. “The result is a new kind of material that can both bear loads and store energy — and which is capable of regaining its performance when supplied with nutrients.”

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    But to infuse — bacterial — life into cement is one thing. To keep the bacteria alive is another — and that really is the crux of the breakthrough. For that, the team designed a system of pushing regular “food” — salts, protein, vitamins and sundry growth factors: “a nutrient solution … to keep the bacteria alive or ‘reawaken’ the system.” That way, no less than 80% of the power originally generated is recovered.

    Though the value-added to traditional cement can make the new hybrid costlier, even that potentially higher cost holds the prospect of generally lowering infrastructure costs, across the board, particularly when lighting is the question.

    For starters, this promising technology rolls back solar panels and batteries — plus the cost of their repairs. Then, the sheer magic — sorry, science! — of having house, bridge and tunnel walls power and spread electricity, to light up the immediate space, is just bewildering! And it is clean, renewable energy too!

    It’s very early days but the researchers already exposed their invention to extreme weather conditions — freezing conditions and extreme heat — and the “living” cement still stored and discharged electricity. Indeed, six living cement blocks powered alive a light-emitting diode (LED) light — promising!

    There are, of course, safety concerns. If house walls turn electric stores, might the risk of electrocution also rise? That’s not clear from the study so far, but it’s early days. Hard questions must be asked and safety guarantees secured before any mass commercialisations.

    But this Denmark feat should focus our minds on Nigeria’s local science and innovation. Denmark experiences long days of dazzling sunshine only between May and August. Nigeria does almost all-year round, even during the rainy season.

    Denmark and the rest of Europe have better housing, lighting and allied infrastructural stock. Yet, it’s Danish AU scientists — not dons from Nigerian universities — that have hit on a building innovation, that seems a perfect fit for Nigeria’s developmental needs!

    Our local scientists must challenge themselves to develop technology, as answers to local challenges. That’s the only way the proverbial gown can impact the town. But the government too should provide funding and a better environment for research and scholarship.

  • Cement: FG emphasises investment collaboration

    Cement: FG emphasises investment collaboration

    …as BUA strengthens market share, adds 4th production line, eyes West African market

    The federal government has emphasized and is encouraging Nigerian investors and business communities to deeply explore collaboration with others towards the industrialization of the country.

    This admonition followed a sealed agreement for the commencement of construction of a fourth cement production line at the BUA Cement PLC factory in Edo State.

    The new 3 million ton annual production line, set to break ground this weekend and be completed within 20 months, will increase BUA’s total capacity to 20 million tons by 2026.

    During the 12-year partnership celebration and strategic business agreement signing with CBMI in Abuja on Thursday, BUA Group’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Abdul Samad Rabiu, said the company intends to maintain its position as Nigeria’s second-largest cement producer and contribute to the country’s industrialization drive.

    The Founder/Chief Executive Officer of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, during the celebration of the 12 years of business partnership between BUA Group and CBMI and the signing of a strategic business agreement between the two organizations in Abuja on Thursday, said the intention of the company that is currently the second largest producer of cement in the country is to bolster its market position and contribute to the country’s industrialization drive.

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    The Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, hailed BUA’s achievements in the cement sector as a testament to the Federal Government’s efforts to promote industrialization through its backward integration programme.

    He said that the policy has made Nigeria self-sufficient in cement production and an exporter of cement in Africa, the Minister, represented at the event, also highlighted the government’s commitment to revitalizing the industrial sector in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

    “The Ministry is committed to industrial revitalization of the country in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, promoting policies to make Nigeria a better place to live and prosper.

    “From what I heard today and what I have seen, our shared future is surely bright,” she said.

    Elated, Rabiu said the new line, the fourth in Edo State and eighth overall, would meet growing domestic and export demands, with groundbreaking scheduled for this weekend, underscoring the company’s commitment to rapid expansion.

    “This fourth line is for 3 million tons per annum and the groundbreaking is going to be held in the next couple of days, maybe on Saturday or Sunday.

    “The new contract to build another line has been signed and will be completed in less than 20 months from today (Thursday).

    “So we are really very thrilled, very excited, you know, with this cooperation and collaboration between ourselves and CBMI,” he said.

    Noting that expanding the export horizons of the company is a priority for the company, Rabiu explained that BUA’s Sokoto plant, ideally positioned for exports to Niger Republic and Burkina Faso, has played a crucial role in the company’s regional trade strategy.

    He said despite a temporary reduction in exports due to increased local demand, BUA remains committed to balancing domestic supply with export opportunities, leveraging periods of lower domestic construction activity, such as the rainy season, to boost exports to neighbouring countries.

    Speaking on the new development and cement price stability, he noted that with the addition of the new production line, BUA Cement’s annual capacity will increase from 17 million to 20 million tons by early 2026, solidifying its position as Nigeria’s second-largest cement producer.

    However, he noted that despite the recent past price surges driven by the naira’s devaluation, manufacturers have managed to keep cement prices relatively stable compared to other consumables commodities.

    According to him, the manufacturers were not to blame, explaining that at the height of the surging prices of cement in the country some months ago, dealers and the middlemen involved took advantage of the situation despite efforts by BUA to mitigate the effects of the production costs.

    Notwithstanding, he said the current price of cement in Nigeria is more pocket-friendly compared to other parts of the continent while assuring that further reduction is possible when the foreign exchange situation improves.

    “One reason then was the fact that a lot of the inputs and a lot of the, you know, costs involved at the time were eliminated or indexed to the exchange rates and then the exchange rate went up from 600 Naira to at one time almost N1,800 or N1,900.

    “In many African countries, cement prices range between $120 and $140 per ton, translating to about N9,000 per ton at today’s exchange rates.

    “It has been very challenging but we were able to manage it. And if you look at the price of cement and the exchange rate at the time against what we have now, you’ll see that cement as a commodity in Nigeria is doing better than most commodities.

    “BUA’s pricing strategy aims to keep costs manageable for consumers while sustaining the company’s growth and market share,” he said.

    On his part, CBMI Chairman, Tong Laigou, said having reviewed the 12-year partnership with BUA Cement, the Chinese State-owned company feels satisfied that it has been able to contribute to the growth of BUA and the Nigerian economy.

    He said the success of the partnership has encouraged CBMI to further deepen and explore its collaboration in Nigeria, being a country with great potential and opportunities.

    Saying that CBMI intends to make BUA the leader in the cement market, Laigou encouraged and invited Rabiu to also explore business opportunities in China.

    Speaking on the rewarding collaboration between the two organizations in his welcome address, CBMI’s General Manager, Geng Fengtao noted that due to its forward-looking and strategic vision, BUA has become a major player in the cement industry.

    “Through years of cooperation between CBMI and BUA, the annual cement production capacity of BUA has increased to 17 million tons, renowned for its excellent quality and strength.

    “Simultaneously, Nigeria has transformed from a cement-importing country to a cement-exporting one.

    “As we continue to explore new opportunities, embrace top technologies, and expand our horizons, our partnership is expected to reach even greater heights,” Fengtao said.

    Yusuf Binji, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of BUA Cement PLC, said moving from a 2% market share in 2009 to over 30% within the last four years with capacity moving from half a million tons to 20 million tons by 2026 spotlights the determination of the company to bolstering the nation’s economy.

  • Cement prices: Block moulders call for lower import duties

    Cement prices: Block moulders call for lower import duties

    The National Association of Block moulders of Nigeria (NABMON) has urged the Federal Government to reduce import duties on cement manufacturing components to attract more foreign investment in the sector.

    The National President, NABMON, Mr Adesegun Banjoko, gave the advice in a statement issued on Monday in Lagos.

    He said the price of one bag of cement in Nigeria, currently in the region of N7,000 and N8,000 was still considered too expensive.

    NAN recalls that the federal government and cement manufacturers had in February, in Abuja agreed on a N7,000 to N8,000 price range for one bag of 50 kg cement.

    However, manufacturers said the cement price reduction wasn’t guaranteed, indicating that the sustainability of the price decrease was dependent on the government following through on its promises to address certain industry challenges.

    Banjoko in the statement said the threat by the government to open up the borders to increase supply had also not brought down the prices.

    “Of recent, the issue of our key raw material, cement, attracted front burner attention nationwide, and the dust is yet to finally settle as far as we are concerned because the N7000 to N8000 offer is still on the high side.

    “The government has threatened to open the borders to increase supply.

    “Please also reduce import duties on imported components for manufacturing cement and also invite more global investors into the sector so that ‘the market can determine fair prices’”, he said.

    The NABMON president also advised the government to discourage cement smuggling to neighbouring countries.

    Banjoko said that Nigeria had a larger population and presumably a higher demand for cement, yet it lags behind South Africa in production facilities.

    He suggested the need to invest in building more cement factories to meet the country’s domestic needs and become a potential exporter.

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    “South Africa, with a population of 60million, has 15 cement factories, and Nigeria with a population three times larger has only three cement factories, then there is still much work to be done,” he said.

    Banjoko, therefore, expressed optimism that ongoing research efforts would find alternative materials for cement production in Nigeria.

    “It is, however, heart-warming to our awareness that all hands are currently on deck at our research institutes and universities on cement innovations research.

    “This is with a view to finding locally sourced alternative materials for cheaper, quality cement and even other building materials“, he said.

    (NAN)

  • Like cement, like rice?

    Like cement, like rice?

    Trust Peter Obi — perhaps Nigeria’s foremost political chichidodo — to mock, with relish, the Ukraine grains (yes: “war-torn” Ukraine) to North East Nigeria. 

    That was a World Food Programme (WFP) though, under the aegis of the United Nations. Boko Haram may have been degraded.  But  its war pestilence endures: hence the WFP donation to that war-weary, war-crippled, vast corridor.

    Still, such stunning reach for base emotions suits Holy Gregrory just fine, as it riles up his unthinking mob, ever hooked on empty but heady sensations.

    Like that Ghana bird that loathes human wastes but is hooked on maggots,  public rot — real, imagined or outright contrived — feeds Obi’s immaculate political papacy. 

    That’s why he would whip up the Ukraine grain to trumpet “hunger in the land”; and sneer at the tragedy of the Customs rice stampede in Lagos, to home in on the grand paradox of “war-torn” Ukraine “feeding” peacetime Nigeria!

    Sacred Peter is wired that way — the chichidodo that hates faeces but craves maggots!

    Yet, Nigeria suffers no food scarcity, though it also hugs the harsh paradox of ultra-high food prices.  The question is why?

    Indeed, despite the security challenges that threaten the food security gains of the Muhammadu Buhari years — even before that government exited — there is no famine. 

    Today, Nigeria is Africa’s No. 1 producer of rice: which explains the post-2015 spur of rice mills nationwide — no less than 199 mills, as at January 2024.

    By 2020, Nigeria produced eight million metric tonnes (MT) of paddy rice (up from three million MT)  — more than half of Africa’s average of 14.6 million tonnes. 

    In five short years (2015-2020), Nigeria overtook Egypt, hitherto Africa’s No. 1, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics.

    With 59 million MT, Nigeria is also the world’s No. 1 producer of cassava: 20 per cent, which means one of every five tubers globally, according to FAO statistics in 2021.

    Rice and cassava are only poster-boy symbols for other grains and tubers, areas in which Nigeria made great strides during the Buhari years — feats the Tinubu order is anxious to consolidate and surpass, especially in agricultural processing to birth jobs.

    But it’s no uhuru yet on food security. 

    Even as Africa’s rice No. 1, and the world’s No. 13, Nigeria was still Africa’s top rice importer, though imports progressively plummeted, from 2015: 2014 (1.24 million MT); 2015 (244, 131 MT); 2016 (58, 260 MT) — just as China: No. 1 rice producer globally but also No. 1 global importer of the grain.

    There are even newer worries on new food challenges, via a report widely reported in the media on March 8.

    A caution from Cadre Harmonise, a global food security monitoring ally of FAO, has warned that no less than 31 million Nigerians could face some food crises between June and August; aside from 24.7 million others, already in it, from this current March stretching to May.

    Though the projection talks of 26 states, the epicentres are clear: Adamawa (1.1 million), Borno (2.1 million), Yobe (1.5 million) — all near-prostrate after the Boko Haram plague.

    Also Sokoto and Zamfara states in the North West — vortex of banditry and kidnapping — would be heavily impacted.

    So, the worst impacted areas lug heavy insecurity burdens: the large swaths of the North East (remnants of Boko Haram), and the banditry-prone North West.

    That gives a clear direction to the Tinubu government on where to train its big guns to wipe out these violent felons.  It also validates the WFP wisdom of gifting the North East timely Ukraine grains.

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    Still, imagine if all of these had happened pre-2015, with Nigeria growing just over three million MT of paddy rice! 

    Imagine if Russia had invaded Ukraine in 2015, not 2022: starting a war that imperilled Ukraine, with its global grain basket!

    Nigeria, it must be stated, dodged that grain bullet, thanks to the Buhari-era agricultural activism, with its whoop of “grow what you eat and eat what you grow!” 

    What earns credit for that push was the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Scheme (ABS).  Now, from everyone is the maniacal condemnation of  the “corruption” that allegedly rocked that scheme — no crime. 

    But blowing your top over sharp practices — by all means! — but turning coy over clear triumphs, from that same process, is grand metaphor for the grand corruption of fairness.  That’s the mother of all corruption — of values! 

    Unfortunately, that’s typically Nigerian: embellish failures; tamp down triumphs, and cry in fashionable distress like lost hyenas!

    But if you don’t track success as robustly as you track failure, how do you accurately gauge your progress and build on them? 

    That’s the prime challenge before the Tinubu order, with many of its prime ministers developing a blame-game complex that could surely derail their focus on consolidating the good of the PMB era, while correcting the bad.

    Still, the crux of the message here is neither flaying this new order jeremiad, nor rallying for the ancien regime.

    It is rather to warn against the emergent Nigerian local rice industry going the way of cement: a few Oligarchs entrenching selves and fixing prices so ridiculous local rice may well be costlier than imported brands — pretty much the cement story!

    The time to crush such a tendency is now, before the folks involved get too comfy. Besides, while both rice (food) and cement (shelter) are basic human needs, one is more basic than the other — and rice anchors the food demand of the common folks.

    Indeed, the evolution of the cement market, with its perpetual high ex-factory prices, is intriguing.

    It dawned with the halcyon days of imported cement powder to be locally bagged.  Then, the roar for local production, since limestone — cement’s main raw material — nestles in huge quantities in Nigeria’s bowels: North, West or East.  Later, the admirable move to localize the industry. 

    But lo!  Cement was a buyer bargain when most of it was imported, with few local makers; but a clear buyer nightmare, as an entrenched local industry, with even many of the big boys branching out to establish plants in other African countries!

    Howzat? — to borrow that popular phrase of the game of cricket!

    While not acting as disincentive to new investments, the Tinubu government should move fast to sanitize the rice market, while building on the agricultural strides of the Buhari years, before rice acquires the notoriety of irrational cement prices.

    By the way, that should also be the mindset to approach the fuel market, now that Nigeria stands on the cusp of local refining of petroleum products. 

    Cement is such a prime bad example for local capacity.  No other emergent market should follow that self-destruct path.

  • Cement manufacturers declare N710b profit

    Cement manufacturers declare N710b profit

    • Sales hit N3.1tr in 12 months

    Nigeria’s three cement manufacturers recorded profit of N710.03 billion in 2023 as significant upsurge in sales and considerably higher prices lessened pressures on operations.

    A sectoral intelligence report by The Nation yesterday showed that the trio of Dangote Cement, BUA Cement and Lafarge Africa have seen substantial growths in sales and profitability.

    However, foreign exchange (forex) losses impinged on the net profit of the companies.

    Total sales by the companies rose from N2.35 trillion in 2022 to N3.076 trillion in 2023. Also, operating profit increased from N799.79 billion in 2022 to N910.99 billion in 2023.

    Profit before tax however, dropped from N713.89 billion in 2022 to N710.03 billion in 2023.

    The decline in pre-tax profit was largely due to BUA Cement, which saw a considerable slowdown in profitability.

    After taxes, net profit for the firms rose from N536.97 billion in 2022 to N576.17 billion in 2023.

    While the three cement companies exclusively control the Nigerian cement market, the vast ownership of the companies are also held by three entities. Alhaji Aliko Dangote holds 85.8 per cent majority equity stake in Dangote Cement. Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu holds 95.79 per cent controlling shares in BUA Cement while French multinational, Holcim Limited, holds 83.81 per cent in Lafarge Africa.

    The cement manufacturers, which enjoy exclusive cement production and sales, have come under intense searchlight as cement prices skyrocketed.

    Under the backward integration project, Nigeria banned importation of cement, leaving the three domestic producers as the sources for the nation’s vast cement requirements.

    As demand increased, the average cement price had more than doubled from N4,000 to N8,000. The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) estimated that price of a 50kg bag of cement rose by some 150 per cent from N4,500 in January to about N13,000 in February. Following public outcry, cement manufacturers at a meeting with the government, agreed to an average of N7,000 per 50kg of cement.

    A company-by-company analysis showed that Dangote Cement controls more than two-thirds of the cement majors. Dangote Cement’s turnover rose from N1.62 trillion in 2022 to N2.21 trillion in 2023.

    Operating profit leapt from N585.88 billion in 2022 to N734.27 billion in 2023. Profit before tax increased from N524.0 billion to N553.10 billion. Profit after tax rose from N382.31 billion to N455.58 billion.

    With earnings per share rising from N22.27 in 2022 to N26.47 in 2023, the board of directors of Dangote Cement has recommended increase in dividend payout from N20 per share for 2022 to N30 per share in 2023.

    Lafarge Africa’s sales rose from N373.24 billion in 2022 to N405.50 billion in 2023. Operating profit increased from N84.19 billion to N102.02 billion. Profit before tax rose from N69.74 billion to N80.7 billion. Net profit however, slipped from N53.65 billion to N51.14 billion. Lafarge is reducing dividend per share from N2 for 2022 to N1.90 for 2023, aligning its dividend trend with its net performance.

    BUA Cement, which upstaged Lafarge to become the second largest by turnover, grew sales from N361 billion in 2022 to N460 billion in 2023. The company however, saw considerable decline in its profitability. Operating profit dropped from N129.72 billion in 2022 to N74.7 billion in 2023. Profit before tax halved from N120.15 billion to N67.23 billion. Net profit dropped from N101.01 billion to N69.45 billion. The board of BUA has recommended reduction in dividend per share from N2.80 for 2022 to N2 for 2023.

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    BUA Cement’s performance was compounded by forex losses, which jumped from N5.50 billion in 2022 to N69.96 billion in 2023.

    Amid concerns about the skyrocketing cement prices, BUA Cement had announced ex-factory price of N3,500 per 50kg of cement. It however, blamed saboteurs for the failure of the price reduction, after market survey showed BUA Cement’s prices remained within the sector’s average.

    Market analysts said cement demand is expected to remain high, raising the possibility of elevated prices in the absence of significant shifts in market structure and turnover. While cement manufacturers had blamed costs of production, especially energy cost, for the doubling prices, many stakeholders had blamed the oligopolistic structure of the market.

    The Federal Government had also threatened to break the monopoly being enjoyed by the domestic manufacturers by allowing importation of cement. With cement prices significantly cheaper in neighbouring countries, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa said there was no justification for the percentage increase in cement price.

    The NIQS said it would support the opening of the borders for cement importation if the domestic cement manufacturers fail to reduce cement prices.

    NIQS President Kene Nzekwe said cement manufacturers were holding the country to ransom with about 100 per cent to 150 per cent increase in price within just six weeks.

    He said: “We support the minister’s threat to cement manufactures about opening the border for importation and we hope it goes beyond a threats and the government actually does it because the manufacturers are holding Nigeria to ransom.”

    Nzekwe said the steep increase in prices of cement and other construction materials had adversely affected the construction industry.

    He added: “This ugly trend is making it more difficult for prospective clients to afford construction projects and has forced many projects to stall, pushing contractors into financial distress. The repercussions extend beyond stalled projects; it impedes the development of crucial infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, and educational facilities.

    “Private sector investors are also reluctant, creating an adverse cycle that hampers economic growth and job losses in the construction industry.”

  • Haba; cement manufacturers!

    Haba; cement manufacturers!

    SIR: The recent spike in the prices of building materials, particularly cement is no doubt worrisome, most especially to builders and those aspiring to build. A measure of the concern apparently informed the federal government’s meeting with the three leading cement manufacturers – BUA, Dangote and Lafarge.

    Represented by Minister for Works and Housing, David Umahi and his Trade and Investment counterpart, Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, the federal government team had met with the cement producers with the sole purpose of ascertaining the factors behind the increases. According to reports, the federal government team was told that the spike stemmed from the foreign exchange issue as it affects the importation of machinery in particular. Reports also stated that Umahi and his counterpart made it known to the producers that the federal government may have no option but lift the ban on the importation of cement if their prices are not reduced. He reminded the manufacturers that the importation of cement was banned as a way of encouraging local manufacturers. Thereafter, the manufacturers were said to have agreed that cement will subsequently sell between N7,000 and N8,000 per 50kg bag. Before the intervention, the 50 kg bag sold for N6,400 before it shot up to N12,000.

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    Even if the cement manufacturers keep their word, N7,000 for a 50kg bag of cement at this point in time is still outrageous. The truth is that the big three manufacturers operate like virtual monopolies. And to imagine that these are entities that have received one form of waiver or the other to get to where they are today.

    The federal government should go beyond the threat to lift the ban on cement importation if that is the only way to force the price down.  The government needs to realize that the masses are not happy with the way it is tackling the activities of these oligarchies out to milk Nigerians for the sake of being recognized as the richest men in the world.

    What is the rationale for the spate of price increases within two weeks if not to frustrate the government’s infrastructural plans and the housing dreams of the struggling masses? Virtually everything used in the production of the product is sourced locally, but the manufacturers in their meanness do not see the need to join the federal government to ameliorate the suffering of the masses. They would rather choose to exacerbate it.

    Time the federal Government realize that these men are not interested in the country’s development; they are only driven by the need to make profit.

    • Ifeonu Okolo, Asaba, Delta State.
  • Surveyors back cement import, oppose price hike

    Surveyors back cement import, oppose price hike

    The President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Kene Nzekwe, yesterday hailed the Federal Government’s threat to cement manufactures to open the boarders for cement importation into the country if they do not reduce cement price.

    He said presently, cement manufactures are holding the country to ransom with about 100 per cent to 150 per cent increase in price within six weeks. Nzekwe advised the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa to not just threaten the manufactures but work on opening the borders to importation if the manufactures refuse to cut down on their price.

    Although he agreed that inflation is part of economic cycles, Nzekwe however noted that what Nigeria is currently facing is hyperinflation, which is an uncontrollable surge in general price levels.

    He spoke yesterday in Abuja at a press conference organised by the Institute on addressing the impact of hyperinflation on Nigerian construction industry: urgent need for government intervention for stabilizing construction costs in Nigeria.

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    “We support the Minister’s threat to cement manufactures in the country about opening the boarder for importation and we hope it goes beyond threats and the government actually does it because the manufactures are holding Nigeria to ransom. The price of cement, using a 50kg bag as an indicator, between January 2024 and February 2024 a period of about six weeks, has increased from N4,500 to between N12,000-N13,000. This is an increase of 100 percent to 150 percent. Reinforcement steel rods, another major material for construction moved from around N590, 000 -N650,000 per ton as of January 2024 to N1,200,000 -N1,400,000 as of February 2024 an increase of over 100 percent in a short period of less than six weeks.

    “This ugly trend is making it more difficult for prospective clients to afford construction projects and has forced many projects to stall, pushing contractors into financial distress. The repercussions extend beyond stalled projects; it impedes the development of crucial infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, and educational facilities. Private sector investors are also reluctant, creating an adverse cycle that hampers economic growth and job losses in the construction industry,” Nzekwe submitted.

  • The cement question

    The cement question

    • A justified price hike? Or few producers bandying together to flare prices?

    On the cement quandary — a product that sources its raw materials locally but which price always hits the roof — the government must ask penetrating questions, much deeper than claims by industry players.

    That way, the Federal Government would independently interrogate the entire cement production chain, factored in the impact of its own policies, and emerge with a fair cost profile, that either justifies or nullifies the current claims by cement companies.

    That would be a fresh start to x-raying the cement conundrum.  The yo-yo in the market has endured for too long.  Yet, cement is crucial to any infrastructural upscale — road, rail, housing, et al — so imperative to expand the infrastructure stock to grow the economy.

    All these queries have become necessary, with the high drama on the cement front these past few days.

    First, there was a meeting between two ministers, David Umahi (Works), Mrs. Doris Uzoka-Anite (Industry, Trade and Investment) and cement manufacturers, to figure out how to arrest the always flaring prices of cement, now selling for between N13, 000 and N15, 000 for a 50 kg bag.

    That meeting agreed on a tentative price regime between N7, 000 and N8, 000, depending on where the customer is buying, within Nigeria’s far-flung territory.  The meeting agreed to meet 30 days later to review things. 

    But apparently not impressed with the new agreement, another infrastructure minister,  Ahmed Musa Dangiwa (Housing and Urban Development), read a seeming riot act: if the cement players play hard ball in hard times, the Federal Government might re-think importing cement.  That has not happened since 2012, when Nigeria was adjudged to have developed the capacity in cement self-sufficiency.  Still, how can self-sufficiency equate constantly soaring prices?

    Besides, the agreed prices were subject to some conditions: the government must tweak some policies negatively impacting the cost profile of cement, while the manufacturers would launch an inter-industry monitor to sanction any erring company or profiteering distributor. Fair enough.

    Still, late in 2023, the BUA Group — only next to Dangote cement in market share — pledged itself to a N3, 500-a-50 Kg bag, with a possible roll-out from January 2024.  Yet, the same BUA agreed to the new pan-industry prices of between N7, 000 and N8, 000. 

    If BUA could solo promise a N3, 500 price tag — and it’s not a charity organisation — would it not be logical thinking to assume that the newly agreed prices could still be far in excess of fair pricing?  Seven thousand Naira is the double of N3, 500.  Eight thousand Naira is even a clear N1, 000 added to that double! 

    So, if BUA could sell a bag for half of the newly agreed price, why can’t other players: operating in the same market, sourcing the same local raw materials and subjected to the same “smuggling” into neighbouring countries to attract high prices, do same?

    Could the high price of cement then be some oligopolistic conspiracy: a few players determined to sell at any price they damn well want, let the heavens fall? 

    Though BUA pledged to infuse an additional six million tonnes into the market, perhaps to drive down prices, why didn’t BUA insist on its voluntary pledge to sell at N3, 500 and see how the other players will react? 

    Was it earlier playing to the gallery?  It wanted to start a price war?  Or it just took easy comfort in the new price regime, knowing that either way, it would still make a kill while the consumers flinch; and the economy, which needs urgent core infrastructure to grow and provide jobs, continues to stagnate?

    None of these queries proves or even presumes any bad faith.  But they show why the government should address the umpteenth cement riddle with a more rigorous mind, if Nigeria must root out any oligopoly plot.  Cement, just as steel, is strategic to national development.

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    That brings the matter to the manufacturers’ conditions to deliver on the agreed prices: high cost of gas, high import duty on cement-producing machinery, smuggling and bad roads subjecting cement manufacturers to wanton wastes: as trucks stumble and products perish; and of course, the naira floatation, which had led to its over-undervaluation, sparking inflation.

    The government must move fast to influence a more pocket-friendly gas pricing.  It can also address high import duty of cement machinery, thus treating the sector as strategic.  As for naira parity, that is at best a medium-run challenge.  But again, even that calls for periodic tweaking, to arrive at a fair and realistic exchange rate.

    However, the other conditions would appear cement makers stacking their cards.  Smuggling is certainly overplayed.  Being a bulk product, there is a limit to which cement can be smuggled.  Only plants close to the border can do that, but even then, the cost and strain are humongous.  Still, the government can act, with intel from players, to reduce such to the barest minimum.

    But instead of pointing fingers at bad roads, cement makers can offer selves as  proud and patriotic partners to fix that challenge.  Works minister Umahi is passionate about concrete roads.  That means not only more market for cement makers, better roads pave a far better future operating atmosphere for their business.  Yet, hardly anyone has heard the cement industry own that policy as their own.

    These are hard times.  But with good conscience and patriotism, that pang can be neutered.  The right questions asked, it would appear cement can still sell for far below N7, 000 or N8, 000. 

    It is, therefore, left to the Federal Government to do its due diligence  and do the needful.  The success of its ambitious infrastructure projects may well depend on that.

  • JUST IN: Cement sells for N11,000 in Lagos

    JUST IN: Cement sells for N11,000 in Lagos

    Despite the agreement reached with manufacturers that cement should be sold for N7,000, the product is still being sold for between N10,000 and N11,000 in the Idimu area of Lagos state. 

    A retailer, simply identified as Alhaja, said the news that cement should sell for N7,000 is just a hoax. 

    According to her, Dangote blocked all payment portals while negotiations were on with the Federal Government, and by the time it was reopened, the price was hiked again. 

    She said: “Even BUA which was selling for N3,500 was the first to hike prices. In fact, the Dangote payment portal was blocked last week, only for them to reopen it and the price was increased by another N400. All the noise of N7,000 is just in the media, it’s not real. 

    “But we pray and hope it is effected soon enough because this price hike is really slowing down business.”

    Another outlet did not have any stock on the ground. The owner, who pleaded for anonymity, corroborated Alhaja.

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    He said: “At this point, I don’t know what else to do. Cement is off-limit for now because I don’t even know how to restock. The N7,000 price being bandied in the news is unreal. The price was increased by N400 after manufacturers met with the government. We just hope things return to normal as soon as possible.”