October 16, 2012/ African Review

The Cement Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (CMAN) has said that the country’s ability to produce cement has overtaken its demand

CMAN chairman Joseph Makoju said at a meeting held in Calabar, “Nigeria has arrived as a cement manufacturing country with enough cement being produced to meet its needs.

“The Nigerian government hasn’t issued any import licenses on cement since the start of 2012. We are out to encourage more local production against importation.”

Makoju added that the Nigerian cement industry was recording success at a time when the manufacturing sector as a whole was shrinking. Moreover, the price of cement was soaring and consumption remained low in comparison to other countries, he noted.

According to a report on cement news web portal Global Cement, the consumption of cement has remained much lower than in several other parts of Africa. Its placed Nigeria's per capita consumption at 110kg, compared to 280kg in South Africa and more than 600kg in Egypt.

Nigeria has also continued to be plagued by higher cement prices, according to the report.

The monthly price reviews of Global Cement showed that the cost per bag had risen by 20 per cent since 2010, despite presidential orders to keep the price low.

A CMAN statement said that the association has announced plans to promote the construction of concrete roads with the government, as poor infrastructure and lack of roads often caused production costs to shoot up. 

The statement added that CMAN was also working out ways to export cement to other countries in the West African sub-region and that, in spite of the surplus, the association was continuing to encourage investors to build more cement plants.