The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (Cemap) noted there has been no letup in the importation of cement.
Citing data from the Bureau of Customs, Renato Baja, Cemap executive director, said cement imports reached 6.2 million tons from January to October, which is 5 percent higher than last year.
Baja said in October alone, imports reached a record high of 870,000 tons. The majority of imports of 94 percent come from Vietnam, with smaller portions of 5 percent from Japan and 1 percent from Indonesia.
“Despite the Philippine cement industry’s ample capacity of 50 million tons annually, sufficient to meet the local demand estimated at 34 million tons, the influx of imported cement has caused substantial harm to domestic manufacturers,” said Baja at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay on Tuesday.
Cemap said the implementation of safeguard measures is vital to mitigating these adverse impacts and preserving the competitiveness of local producers.
The group supports the Department of Trade and Industry’s motu proprio investigation on the surge of imported cement which the agency initiated on October 28.
Cemap president Reinier Dizon in the same forum said it is time to revisit the country’s trade policies, adding the Tatal Pinoy Act is one way of encouraging preference to locally-produced cement.
Dizon said Cemap sees cement imports reaching 7 to 7.5 million tons this year, slightly higher than last year’s 7 million which accounted for about 27 percent of local demand.
However, additional capacities are coming online this year from two of its members.
“A cement plant takes several billions of pesos to put up. We are really vulnerable,” said Dizon, adding countries like Vietnam are exporting their excess capacities to nearby markets.
“We support the DTI’s investigation. We are after fair trade and (even) level playing field,” he said.
Baja said post-pandemic, Cemap noted a slow recovery of the local cement industry and market share shrank as imports started to come in.
