Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued 30 import licences for cement to close the supply gap and curb escalating prices amid shortage of the commodity on the market.
Business Review has established that the import licences issued will enable traders import an estimated 375 000 metric tonnes (MT) of cement from neighbouring Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.
But the projected imported tonnage is below the estimated country’s annual deficit of 959 988 MT, according to Ministry of Trade and Industry data.
According to the data, annual production capacity of the country’s three local cement producers, Shayona Cement Corporation in Kasungu, Cement Products Limited (CPL) in Mangochi and Portland Cement Malawi in Blantyre stands at 822 012 MT against an annual market demand of 1 782 000 MT.
Ministry of Trade and Industry spokesperson Mayeso Msokera said that while the local manufacturers are being prioritised for forex allocations to enable them bring adequate raw materials for production of cement, they will continue to issue import licences to traders who are able to source imported cement to supplement the deficit from local production.
He said: “Since the time we noticed shortages [last month], we have issued licences to about 30 eligible importers to bring cement. The licence is valid for one year, but it also has a limitation on quantities assigned to a trader.”
Msokera said want they production of cement to stabilise as manufacturers are prioritised in terms of foreign exchange availability.
In the long-term, he said the ministry, through the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre, seeks to facilitate more investment and expansion of local cement production capacity.
