Cheap cement imports put local industry at risk, report warns
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GUEST - Professor Adrian Saville, Director of the Centre for African Management and Markets (CAMM)
SA’s cement industry is using only two-thirds of its production capacity due to a combination of displacement by imports and low demand, putting jobs and government revenue collection at risk. This is according to a report produced and published this week by the Centre for African Management and Markets (CAMM) at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, warning that the influx of cheap imported cement is stifling domestic production
Based on the scenario modelled in the report, some of the more sobering estimations on the impact - across the entire PPC value chain – include more than 2,200 jobs potentially at risk - primarily across marginalised communities; and a potential R2.6 billion annual loss in economic value in an already- strained economic environment.
The report evidences PPC as a major economic contributor in South Africa, as the business’s operations added R8.8 billion to the national GDP last year through its vast value chain –equivalent to 0.13% of the country’s total GDP. Despite the subdued economic climate and infrastructure backlog South Africa experiences, PPC’s purchased goods, services, and capital equipment from local suppliers was valued at over R4.7 billion.
SA’s cement industry is using only two-thirds of its production capacity due to a combination of displacement by imports and low demand, putting jobs and government revenue collection at risk. This is according to a report produced and published this week by the Centre for African Management and Markets (CAMM) at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, warning that the influx of cheap imported cement is stifling domestic production
Based on the scenario modelled in the report, some of the more sobering estimations on the impact - across the entire PPC value chain – include more than 2,200 jobs potentially at risk - primarily across marginalised communities; and a potential R2.6 billion annual loss in economic value in an already- strained economic environment.
The report evidences PPC as a major economic contributor in South Africa, as the business’s operations added R8.8 billion to the national GDP last year through its vast value chain –equivalent to 0.13% of the country’s total GDP. Despite the subdued economic climate and infrastructure backlog South Africa experiences, PPC’s purchased goods, services, and capital equipment from local suppliers was valued at over R4.7 billion.
