[ 2021-03-05 ]

Unavailability of local materials to produce cement causing price increases

By Morkporkpor Anku

Accra, Mar. 5, Mr Kobby Adams, Commercial Manager
of CBI Ghana, producers of SUPACEM cements, says
the unavailability of local materials for cement
production is the main reason for frequent
increases in prices.

He said a material such as clinker which was used
to make the product was not produced in the
country, hence it had to be IMPORTED at great cost
to make the cements.



“The rising cost of cements is due to the
unavailability of some products and these
materials are imported in large quantities at
exorbitant charges coupled with the unstable and
high import charges,” he said.

Mr Adams said this in an interview with the Ghana
News Agency on the sidelines of SUPACEM’s
Distributors Appreciation Day, an event which
rewarded loyal customers and distributors.

The event was to express the company’s gratitude
to their distributors who had transacted business
with them in 2020.

Mr Adams said COVID-19 had a toll on the building
industry last year, however, the industry was
doing quite well after the ease of restrictions by
the government at the latter part of the last
year.

He said this year business was reviving and they
believed that they would have a successful year in
the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdown.

The Commercial Manager said the industry was faced
with the challenge of the influx of inferior
building materials onto the local market.

He said these products as compared to the locally
manufactured ones were of low quality and
inferior, which made a lot of people go in for
them without recourse to obvious consequences.

“A major challenge we are facing as an industry
is the influx of low quality building materials in
the local market. The prices are cheaper because
they are inferior, however, most buyers go in for
them not knowing they were inferior and later on
have challenges with their buildings,” he
added.

He said they would be liaising with the government
and other regulatory bodies to salvage the
situation and promote made in Ghana goods to
develop the economy and enhance the development of
the industry.

Mr Frederic Paul Albrecht, Managing Director of
CBI Ghana, said there had been high demand for
cement countrywide and so CBI decided to embark on
an expansion project of going into new territories
to be able to serve more customers.


He said the distributors stood out with their
distributions to help the company achieve its
intended expansion hence the appreciation.

“CBI pledges to continue with the expansion to
be able to reach and serve more customers,” he
added.

The event recognised distributors who had been
loyal customers of SUPACEM cements including Nana
K. Gyasi Company Limited, K. Ofori Company
Limited, K. K. Enterprise, Codanso Enterprise, St
Julian Enterprise, among others.

Source - GNA

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