AFRICAN NEWS
Lafarge Zimbabwe says that it is
able to supply the market with
cement following a shortage.
In a statement the subsidiary
of LafargeHolcim said that the
recent surge in demand was
‘temporary’ and that, overall,
the situation was a ‘positive
signal of economic growth,’
according to the Chronicle
newspaper. It says that the
situation might be attributable
to a rise in mortgage finance
as well as improved disposable
income following a successful
tobacco and maize farming
season on the back of the
Command Agriculture
Programme.
Cement prices have
reportedly risen by over 50%
due to the shortage. Producers
have blamed her situation on
technical problems following
maintenance works at their
plants. They have also ruled out
No Zim
problems
Lafarge Zimbabwe believes it can supply the market, notwithstanding shortages.
any further increases in prices. Despite the cement shortage they have warned against trading cement on
the black market.
Congolese cement producers wary of tax rise
Republic of Congo cement producers
have expressed concerns about
government plans to increase VAT on
cement to 18% from 5%.
Cement prices are expected to rise
as manufacturers pass the extra cost
on to consumers, according to the
Central African Information Agency.
An industry source quoted by the
agency says that local cement plants
are doing badly due to a capacity
utilisation rate of 10 to 20%.
The country has five cement plants
with a production capacity of 3.2Mt/
yr but cement consumption was only
0.7Mt in 2017.
Cement price rises imminent in Republic of Congo.
Most wrongly labelled cement is counterfeit
Ukrcement, the Ukrainian
cement association, has found
in a study that over 80%
of cement with the wrong
labelling was counterfeit. The
research was conducted on 50
cement bags for the consumer
8_QUARRY SA| NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
market, according to Interfax.
Fully 82% of cement proved
to be counterfeit, over 50%
of the samples were below
the declared weight and
56% had weaker strength
and did not comply with the
country’s national standard
for minimum compressive
strength. The association
said that the risks of using
counterfeit cement vary from
loss of time and revenue in
smaller projects to a direct
threat to human life in larger
projects such as high-rise
buildings. Local regulations
require that cement bags
include five items: the name of
the producer, the conventional
designation of cement, the
designation of the normative
document, the net weight and
a conformity mark.