VenturesNow

Nigerian govt ‘may open border for importation of cement’

Published

9 months ago

February 21, 2024

The Nigerian government has issued a warning to cement producers, stating that if they continue to raise prices arbitrarily, it may decide to open the border to cement imports.

This warning was given by Arc Ahmed Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, during an urgent meeting with cement and building material manufacturers on Tuesday in Abuja.

The government last week called for an urgent meeting with cement manufacturers following a recent surge in the price of the product, which has seen a bag of cement jump from N5,000 to as high as N15,000 in less than two weeks.

However, during his speech to the manufacturers on Tuesday, Dangiwa urged them to be more patriotic, pointing out that domestic sources, such as limestone, clay, silica sand, and gypsum, are used to produce cement rather than imports, and as such, they shouldn’t be valued in terms of dollars.

Dangiwa, who stated that the price of cement has increased and is unreasonable, also rejected the makers’ claim that the price increase was caused by petrol and the high cost of importing equipment.

This was in reaction to Salako James, the Association’s Executive Secretary, who had said that the association just heard of the pricing from the market like every other Nigerian and did not discuss or decide the rates of specific enterprises.

“The challenges you speak of, many countries are facing the same challenges and some even worse than that but as patriotic citizens, we have to rally around whenever there is a crisis to change the situation.

“The gas price you spoke of, we know that we produce gas in the country the only thing you can say is that maybe it is not enough.

“Even if you say about 50 percent of your production cost is spent on gas prices, we still produce gas in Nigeria it’s just that some of the manufacturers take advantage of the situation. As for the mining equipment that you mentioned, you buy equipment and it takes years and you are still using it.

“The time you bought it maybe it was at a lower price but because now the dollar is high you are using it as an excuse. Honestly, we have to sit down and look at this critically. The demand and supply should be good for you because the government stopped the importation of cement, they stopped the importation in order to empower you to produce more.

“Otherwise if the government opens the border for mass importation of cement, the price would crash but you would have no business to do and at the same time the employment generation would go down. So these are the kinds of things you have to look at, the efforts of government in ensuring things go well.”

Following the elimination of fuel subsidies, the depreciation of the national currency, and low agricultural output, Nigeria is currently facing its worst cost of living crisis. These factors have all contributed to Nigeria’s highest headline inflation rate of 27% year over year and food inflation of 32%. The massive housing shortage facing the nation seems to have a new facet as a result of the recent increase in cement prices.

VenturesNow

Ghana’s inflation rises to 22.1%

Published

2 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ghana’s consumer inflation increased to 22.1% in October, up from 21.5% in September, according to the statistics department on Wednesday.

Government statistician, Samuel Kobina Annim, told a news conference that food and non-food inflation increased last month.

“Three divisions – food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water and fuel, and transport – contributed about two-thirds of the overall rate of inflation for October,” Annim said.

Inflation reached its highest level since June in October.

The West African nation that produces oil, gold, and cocoa has been struggling to recover from the worst economic catastrophe in a generation.

An overhaul of $13 billion worth of foreign bonds was accepted by investors last month, bringing Ghana’s debt restructuring process closer to a conclusion.

Additionally, a third assessment of its $3 billion loan package was agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund.

VenturesNow

Egypt’s inflation rose to 27% in October— Report

Published

2 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a poll released on Wednesday, higher school costs and a mid-month spike in fuel prices are said to have contributed to Egypt’s inflation, which rose to 27.0% in October.

According to the median prediction of 17 analysts, annual urban consumer inflation rose from 26.4% in September to 27% last month, marking the third consecutive month that annual inflation has increased. The information was gathered between October 31 and November 6.

“The rise in October will be primarily driven by a likely revision in education costs, typically accounted in October,” Sri Virinchi Kadiyala of ADCB said.

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund inked an $8 billion financial assistance deal in March that calls for Egypt to raise a number of domestic prices in order to adopt a less inflationary monetary policy.

According to central bank data, Egypt’s M2 money supply increased by an apparent all-time high of 29.59% year over year in September, contributing to inflation.

Fuel hikes of 10-15% around the end of July and another 11-17% increase in mid-October, a 25-33% increase in metro tickets at the start of August, and a 21-31% increase in energy tariffs in August and September all contributed to the annual inflation gain.

After hitting a record high of 38.0% in September 2023, inflation has been steadily declining. For the first time since January 2022, the central bank’s lending rate became positive in July, rising to 28.25%.

“We do still expect for inflation to slow over the remainder of Q4 and more sharply in Q1 2025 to allow the central bank to start its monetary loosening cycle,” James Swanston of Capital Economics said.