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Nigeria: Government Promises Strict Monitoring of Bulk Cement Importation
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Vanguard (Lagos)
24 March 2008
Posted to the web 24 March 2008
The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr Charles Ugwuh has said that bulk importation of cement would be strictly monitored to discourage abuse. Ugwuh said at a stakeholder's forum in Lagos that government would not allow the policy to put local cement factories in jeopardy.
He said at the forum organised by the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) that government came up with the idea of bulk importation to arrest the escalating prices of cement products.
The Minister said that government had so far issued license for the bulk importation of 11.5 million tonnes to bridge the gap between national demands of 16.5 million tonnes against the 6.5 million tonnes produced locally. He explained that the effort was a short-term measure put in place to enhance adequate supply of cement and crash its price.
The Federal Government in February came up with the policy of bulk importation of cement in response to public outcry against the high cost of cement. A bag of cement was selling for N2,500 in Lagos before the introduction of the policy which has brought the price down to N1,600 per bag. Under the policy, government directed bulk users of cement like construction companies to apply for bulk importation to reduce demand in the open market.
Also speaking, Sen. Kamoru Adedibu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Industry, urged government to pay special attention to the manufacturing sector. Adedibu said this was necessary to enhnace the country's quest of becoming one of the world's 20 biggest economies by 2020.
He said that the Senate would soon take steps to pass into law, a bill that would facilitate quick industrial growth of Nigeria.
Adedibu said that his committee would invite stakeholders to discuss the bill as well as find a way to ensure that the money being realised from excess crude oil sales was used to establish industries.
He called on Nigerians to change their negative perception about made-in-Nigeria goods to protect local industries.
The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji Bashir Borodo, in his speech urged the government to develop the solid mineral sector to encourage investment.
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Borodo listed the challenges confronting the manufacturing sector as poor power supply, poor road network, bad transportation system and shortage of water. Some operators present at the forum however, blamed the high cost of cement on haulage problems and the huge amount of money being charged by vessels coming into Nigeria.
They said that it took between 18 days to 30 days for imported cement to arrive at the nation's ports, a development they argued, had oftentimes created artificial scarcity of the product in the country. According to the operators, the high demand for cement during the dry season is another factor responsible for the high cost.
The operators applauded the Federal Government's short-term policy on bulk purchase but said that Nigerians should not expect the price of cement to fall below N1,000 very soon.
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