Dangote Cement deepening West Africa export with planned 3mmt per annum of clinker
Considering steady saturation of the Nigerian market, leading cement giant, Dangote Cement is currently planning to boost exports to ECOWAS region.
Otherwise, the group is now targeting to export 3mnt per annum of clinker, about 17 per cent of its Nigerian production from the fourth quarter of this year.
The move is to deepen intra-Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade from the current 9 per cent.
Details from the report of sub-Saharan Africa Economist, Renaissance Capital, vonne Mhango showed in a report titled, “Africa: Intra-regional trade –A function of diverse exports,” that the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement was signed by 44 countries recently, committing them to remove tariffs on 90 per cent of imports.
The deal is expected to improve intraregional trade which stands at 20 per cent in Africa as against 62 per cent between advanced economies.”
In West Africa, Dangote Cement Plc currently exports Nigerian cement by road to Ghana and Togo but in small quantities, 6 per cent of its total Nigerian production. Dangote Cement is on track to start exporting 3mnt pa of clinker (17 per cent of its Nigerian production) through Port Harcourt and Apapa in Nigeria from Q4, 2018. The company plans to export this clinker to Ghana, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire. This implies upside for intra-regional trade in ECOWAS.
