Cemex Philippines on Tuesday said the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) probe into the rising influx of imported cement will help strengthen the struggling local industry that has lost P15 billion in 2023 due increasing competition from imports.
“We wholeheartedly endorse DTI’s decisive measures to investigate these imports. Safeguard policies will enable us to cultivate a more robust local cement industry, ensuring high-quality, locally produced materials meet the country’s infrastructure demand,” said Roberto Martin Javier, Cemex Philippines vice president for commercial, in a statement.
The DTI on Oct. 28, 2024 issued an order initiating a preliminary investigation to determine if increased imports of cement are causing or are threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry.
Javier said Cemex Philippines is nearing the completion of a new cement line in Rizal, which will expand Solid Cement’s annual production capacity from 1.5 million tons to 3.4 million tons.
The company invested $350 million for the project.
The DTI said there is substantial evidence indicating increased imports of cement have caused serious injury to the domestic industry.
“This injury is manifested in declining market share, reduced production and sales, decreased capacity utilization, diminished profitability, price depression, undercutting, and suppression,” the DTI said in the order.
