Cameroon : Price hike in cement repealed
According to Cameroon Trade Minister Mbarga Atangana the recent cement price increase has not taken into account the reservations of the government on the timing and the social players including consumers and their associations.
The price was repealed amid disputes within CIMENCAM, the branch of French multinational Lafarge in which Cameroon holds 43 per cent of shares, after the company refused to heed the government injunction on the price hike.
The government had requested the company to postpone its decision while an open and broad-based consultation with all stakeholders was conducted.
The Ministry of Trade held that the current strong erosion of the purchasing power of the people was not conducive to an increase in the price of cement.
CIMENCAM justified the price hike by the need to fund the renewal of its equipment, estimated at 25 billion CFA. This amount was in addition to 18 billion CFA needed for the building of a grinding plant in Douala, the economic hub, in order to reduce cement shortages in the country. Published under Cement News
