See Why Zambia Ordered Dangote, Others to Sell Cement at ₦1,800

Zambia Orders Dangote, Others to Sell Cement at ₦1,800

It has been revealed that Dangote Cement Group sells its product for about 110 Kwacha which is equivalent to ₦1,800 in the Southern African country of Zambia.

This is even as the Zambia Board of Commissioners of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ordered Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone Limited to revert their prices to between Kwacha 99 to Kwacha 110 following an uproar that greeted the recent increment in cement price.

The Board also stated it fined Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited 10% of their yearly turnovers for 2019 and 2020 respectively for allegedly fixing prices and division of markets.

The Board disclosed it was lenient with Dangote Cement Zambia Limited for cooperating with the commission during investigations.

According to Zambia News, the decision to fine Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited was made during the 49th Board of Commissioners Meeting for the Adjudication of Cases held in Lusaka on March 30, 2021.

This was after an exhaustive investigation by the Commission initiated in January 2020 following the Commission’s observation of a sustained increment of cement prices from an average of K55 to K100 per 50kg bag between July 2019 and January 2020.

The continuous price increment of cement by the parties led the Commission to suspect that there were possible collusion and an agreement to fix the cement prices and the Commission carried out investigations for a year.

In a statement issued by CCPC Senior Public Relations Officer, Namukolo Kasumpa, the Board has also ordered Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone Limited to revert to the pre-cartel prices ranging between USD 4.50 – USD 5 (K99 – K110) for one year from the date of receipt of the Board decision pursuant to Section 59 (3) (b) of the Act.

“Additionally, that Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited, Mpande Limestone Limited submit monthly average ex-works prices and any price adjustments be indexed to the exchange rate and be submitted to the Commission for a review pursuant to Section 58 (1) of the Act,” the Board stated.

The Board has further ordered the three cement companies to develop and implement compliance programmes in their respective firms within 90 days of receiving the directive.

“Furthermore, the Board has directed Lafarge Zambia PLC, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone to make undertakings within 90 days of receiving the directive that their respective employees should not engage in any anti-competitive behaviour and that the enterprises should not facilitate and participate in any anti-competitive conduct including the exchange of information,” the Board stated.

Meanwhile, checks in the Nigerian construction markets indicate that Dangote Cement sells for N3,500, while Lafarge sells for N3,400 – almost double of what Zambians pay for the same commodity.