TINASHE MAKICHI
The country’s biggest cement producer, Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC), is anticipating improved supply of cement to the market in a fortnight.
The shortage of cement has been attributed to foreign currency challenges currently bedevilling the economy but some market players are of the opinion that most producers were caught unaware by the rising cement demand. In an interview with Business Times, PPC Zimbabwe managing director Kelibone Masiyane said efforts were being made to make sure that something is done to clear the supply backlog.
He said subdued foreign currency availability has been a challenge to cement production across the industry to some extent, but the underlying problem has been that most cement producers were overwhelmed by the sudden rise in demand which caught them unprepared.
“Some players in the cement industry have come out clearly in terms of the challenges affecting them. Some of them being foreign currency so as to source spares and obviously keep the plants running . It’s not that as PPC we are immune from that but I can safely say that we have been getting quite a lot of support from Government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and they have assisted in as far as forex requirements are concerned.
He said the clinker manufacturing plant was running at full capacity after its annual shutdown in July. He said speculators and some unscrupulous elements in the market were responsible for the shortage of cement. Masiyane also noted that no customer has been forced to purchase cement products from PPC using the United States dollar, but all the available payment platforms were being accepted by the cement giant.
“Speculators have also played a role in causing the shortages of cement on the market where they were buying and then selling at inflated prices. There is no reason why people should panic because we have enough capacity as an industry to fully supply the market,” he said.
The industry is dominated by three major players, namely PPC Zimbabwe, Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe and Sino-Zimbabwe Cement. Together, they have a combined installed capacity of 2,4 million metric tonnes of cement per annum, 54 percent more than current demand estimated at 1,3 million tonnes.
