Shortfall in PH...

million of cement last year.

The number one source of imported cement is China with four brands and Vietnam with more than 10 brands. Other cement sources include Indonesia and Thailand.

“Imported cement started coming in 2014, but before that, local demand was mostly served by domestic production,” said Co. The same volume of importation if not higher is also expected to pour in this year with the implementation of the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program.

“Import volume will depend on how many projects are going to be implemented under the ‘Build Build Build’ program,” he said.

According to Co, pure traders are concentrating in distributing directly to the islands where there are no cement plants, to save on freight cost.

In the case of COHACO, they import cement from Vietnam using smaller vessels and are brought directly to Puerto Princesa at P220 per 40-kilogram bag and other areas in the Visayas like Caticlan, Mindoro and Marinduque because they cannot compete in areas where cement manufacturers have manufacturing plants like Cebu, Mindanao and Luzon.

He said that before the imports came in, the price of cement in Puerto Princesa reached as high as R250 per bag. “We can offer cheaper-priced cement because we go straight to the islands,” he said.

What is good though in this situation, Co said, is that prices of cement of local manufacturers have substantially gone down by 10 to 15 percent. In Cebu where there are cement plants, the price there is R175 per bag.

Co further noted that with the expected issuance of the new Department Administrative Order on cement importation by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the price of cement of the local manufacturers is expected to further go down.

“The manufacturers have the capability to drop their prices by R10 to R20 per bag without losing money, but just lower profit,” he said noting that it is in the interest of the manufacturers to drop their prices to keep imports away. Should the manufacturers reduce prices by R10 per bag, he said, importers would still be able to compete in the islands.

Importers have been lobbying for DTI to allow pre-shipment inspection and certification of cement and another sample testing upon arrival in the country. At present, testing and certification are done upon arrival but traders have been protesting this because they would incur additional cost for warehousing and normally the test takes weeks and even months.