Africa’s largest cement producer, Dangote Cement Plc has slashed local cement prices to N1,000 ($6) and N1,150 ($7), for different grades. The cement giant is keen to consolidate its position as not only Africa’s top cement maker, but the leading provider in the continent’s largest economy, Nigeria.
The current market price for a 50kg bag of the 32.5 grade and 42.5 grade retails for N1,700 ($10.3), 40 percent higher than Dangote’s latest offer.This is the lowest cement price offered consumers since 2005, and ups the ante in what is considered one of the continent’s more competitive markets.
Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement, Devakumar Edwin said the price cut was aimed at supporting the government’s ongoing effort to shrink housing deficit, which currently stands at an estimated 17 million.
“One of the ways of addressing the issue (huge infrastructure and housing deficit) is bringing the price of building materials down to much more affordable levels, especially cement, which is within our own control as part of our contribution to the transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration and the attainment of key milestones in the Millennium Development Goals,” Edwin said.
Since the backward integration policy for cement was implemented in 2002, local production capacity of the product has increased from less than 3 million metric tonnes per annum to about 38 million metric tonnes per annum, and nearly $20 billion has been injected into the Nigerian cement industry with Dangote – Africa’s richest man and owner of the Dangote Group – accounting for 60 percent of that investment.
With market capitalization surging beyond $22 billion, Dangote Cement is Nigeria’s most capitalized listed company and the first to hit $20 billion capitalization mark.
