PHILIPPINES: Cement prices expected to dive

The cement industry will be forced to cut down prices to survive when the Philippines opened its market next year for products from other countries in southeast Asia, a mineral industry expert said on Wednesday.

Louie Sarmiento, president of the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Conference (Amsec), said the country will be flooded with cheap but good quality cement as a result of free trade among the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“The cement industry will feel the impact of the ASEAN integration because cheaper and better quality cement from Taiwan and China are expected to flood the country during the start of the free trade,” Sarmiento said during the Mine Safety and Environment Conference in Baguio.

Cement production is a P3 billion industry providing employment to about 400,000 workers. Cement plants are scattered in various parts of the country such as La Union, Rizal, Surigao, Misamis Oriental, Cebu, Bulacan, and Zamboanga. 

The Asean integration will open free trade to member countries that include Brenie Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Sarmiento said the industry, to remain competitive, must not only lower the price but also ensure stable supply of cement so customers will not look somewhere else to fill up their needs.

The cement plants must improve manufacturing methods, adopt latest technologies to comply with international standards and increase their production on monthly basis to be able to bring the price of their product, Sarmiento said.

“Our cement manufacturers are aware of the impact of integration on the industry. They are now shifting to better modes of production, looking for cheaper raw materials, embracing new technologies that would make their products competitive in the international market,” he said.

Sarmiento said he was confident the cement industry will catch up with stiffer competition through improved production techniques, better services and efficient system of operation by the time the Asean integration will be in effect.