Jamaica Cement Market Eases as Cabinet Opens Door to More Importers

Complaints from builders about scarce cement are dropping as conditions in the local market steady, according to Industry Minister Senator Aubyn Hill.

Hill told reporters on Wednesday, following a Cabinet meeting, that the executive has cleared several additional firms to import cement. The move is intended to widen supply options and keep prices competitive.

"Cabinet, of course, with the information that we got from the market, we had to look at compounding annual growth rate, CAGR, and see how we project what cement demand will be. And out of that we decided that we are going to offer other importers apart from Buying House," he said.

Hill noted that three or four other companies received Cabinet approval to bring in set volumes of cement. He said domestic producers have already stepped up imports, while the newly licensed traders are finalising their logistics.

"There were three or four others that the Cabinet approved that they could import various amounts of cement. Therefore we know now that the demand-supply equilibrium is coming back to normalcy. We know cement company has imported a lot more. The new importers are setting up their arrangements. So cement [shortage] has become much less of a subject.... And we know that the supply is here to meet that demand," he asserted.

The push to broaden import channels follows an April decision allowing Buying House Company to help cover urgent needs. That step came after Caribbean Cement Company flagged operational problems that had strained availability.