Online Reporter
Online Reporter
Government has relaxed regulations to allow the importation of more cement to address shortages experienced recently in the market due to a boom in construction countrywide.
Minister of Skills Audit and Development, Professor Paul Mavima, who was the acting leader of Government business in the National Assembly during question and answer session said this Wednesday.
The price of a 50kg bag of cement has gone up to US$17 from US$12.
“This is a matter which Cabinet discussed and the Cabinet made a decision to open up the importation of cement with immediate effect,” he said.
The rise in prices of the commodity has been attributed to an “unprecedented” boom in construction activity, compounded by constraints on local supply, the exhaustion of import quotas by some traders and chronic production struggles at some manufacturing plants.
“Demand is very high and remains strong even if prices keep on rising,” a cement trader in Harare noted in a survey by this publication this week.
Historically, construction activity peaks between April and November, just ahead of the rainy season, but this year’s demand-driven by both home building and commercial construction been described as incomparable to previous cycles.
While Zimbabwe primarily imports cement from neighbouring Zambia, these inflows have dropped sharply as some major importers have exhausted their allotted import quotas, effectively squeezing external supply just as domestic need accelerated.
Zimbabwe’s cement industry has an installed production capacity of about 2,6 million tonnes annually, though output has been inconsistent as some major producers have been struggling with various operational setbacks, including power shortages and ageing equipment.
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