Zimbabwe’s largest cement producer says “don’t panic” shortage is temporary

PPC Zimbabwe today called on Zimbabweans not to panic about the current shortage of cement saying this  is temporary and was probably due to the planned annual kiln maintenance undertaken in July.

PPC Zimbabwe produces 1.4 million tonnes of cement at its three plants in the country with Harare producing 700 000 tonnes and Bulawayo and Colleen Bawn another 700 000.

According to PPC Zimbabwe Managing director Kelibone Masiyane the current demand for cement in Zimbabwe is 1.3 million tonnes which PPC Zimbabwe alone can meet.

Zimbabwe has two other cement manufacturers, Lafarge which has a capacity to produce 450 000 tonnes and Sino- Zimbabwe cement which has a capacity to produce 250 000 tonnes raising the total Zimbabwe output to 2.1 million tonnes.

“While we cannot speculate about other industry players, I would like to assure the market that PPC Zimbabwe factories have the ability to supply the existing market with quality products,” Masiyane said in a statement today.

He also said there was no reason to increase the price of cement because PPC had not raised its price since April 2012.

“As a company, we appeal to our customers to avoid panic buying as this is likely to compound the situation,” Masiyane said.

“We are continuously engaging our retailers to act responsibly with regards to cement pricing,” he said.

In its report for the year ended March, Pretoria Portland Cement said sales in Zimbabwe had gone up by 40 percent.

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