Apo Cement Corp., a unit of listed Cemex Holdings Inc., said it is suspending the operation of its Davao terminal, citing the influx of imported cement particularly from Vietnam.
The company in a statement said the imports have made it increasingly difficult to maintain operations in the Davao terminal due to rising costs and decreased volumes.”
A petition for anti-dumping filed by local cement manufacturers against imported cement from Vietnam is pending before the Tariff Commission.
The Department of Trade Industry (DTI) imposed provisional anti-dumping duties last year on specific cement brands imported from Vietnam after conducting a preliminary determination on anti-dumping.
“Our operational costs in maintaining the Davao terminal have increased and continue to increase, while our volumes are decreasing due to the unabated entry of cement imports from Vietnam. Given these, we are constrained to suspend terminal operations in Davao,” said Edwin Hufemia, APO Cement vice president for supply chain.
“This suspension of our operations in the Davao terminal will allow us to continue focusing on efficiently running our plant and other terminals and warehouses in order to cope with these current challenges,” he added.
Hufemia said the suspension of the Davao terminal will not affect the supply and delivery of its products.
The Davao terminal had a dispatching capacity estimated at 25,000 bags daily.
APO Cement has a manufacturing plant in Naga City.
