Gov’t to kick against inferior cement from China

quist 18:49 - 20 July 2016

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Stakeholders who are in support of the move say the government must ensure that the cement industry is not exploited as the textile industry has been.

The government has begun steps to reduce the importation of cheap and inferior cement from China, as Ghana plans to expand local production of the commodity.

Ghana’s textile industry that was buoyant in the 1980s, has been crippled by the high influx of inferior pirated textiles from China.

Dangote Cement is planning on establishing a factory in Takoradi, meaning the company would not have to import its products from a parent company in Nigeria.

Head of Communications for Dangote Cement Ghana, Etornam Komla

“As we speak now all the cement manufacturing companies that we have in Ghana such as Dangote, Diamond, GHACEM and the rest, all have the capacity to meet the local demand, and we don’t need any importation from China,” he said.

Etornam Komla further cautioned against allowing the cheap Chinese alternatives just on the basis of price, charging the government to enforce the Ghana Standard Authority’s quality criteria when allowing the importation of cement from China.

“Anytime government want to allow any import of cement into the Ghanaian market we should be sure that it meets the basic standard of quality service,” he told Accra-base Citi FM.