The Cement Manufactures Association of Nigeria (CMAN) says about N42 billion worth of clinker, semi processed cement, is wasting away in their factories due to falling demand for cement.
James Salako, the Executive Secretary of CMAN, told the News Agency of Nigeria that about 1.5 million tonnes of clinker were wasting away in cement factories across the country as a result of decline in demand for cement. “Most of our members have their silos, kiln equipment and a large part of the factory spaces over flowing with clinker because of low sales,” he said.
According to him, the situation is taking a toll on the local manufacturers and the factories may be forced to close if sales do not improve in the next three months. Mr Salako said that many of the factories were now operating at less than 50 per cent of their installed capacity. He said that the current situation, which is being experienced for the first time in the country, was pushing up the overhead costs in the factories.
Sola Adeyemi, the Factory Manager of Lafarge Cement Plc, Ewekoro, said that the factory alone had over 200,000 tonnes of clinker wasting away. He said that the situation was threatening the existence of the factory’s production line, which he said, normally produced between 3,000 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes of cement daily. “We may not have no other option than to shut down the factory if production should drop to 2,000 daily,” he said.
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