Five firms cleared to import cement 

Five additional companies have been granted approval to import cement into Jamaica as the Government seeks to close the supply gap and alleviate shortages that have affected construction activity across the island.

Speaking yesterday during a post-Cabinet press briefing, Senator Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment and commerce, said the importation approvals were granted for six months.

He said Jamaica Logistics International Limited was given the approval to import 100,000 tonnes; Rock Hard Cement will import 100,000 tonnes; Tank-Weld Metals was given the go- ahead for 60,000 tonnes; Island Concrete Company Limited, 60,000 tonnes; and Gore Developments Limited was given the approval to import 20,000 tonnes.

He also noted that The Buying House Company Limited, which has been operating as an authorised cement importer in Jamaica since 2006, was given an expanded quota of 150,000 tonnes.

“With information that we got from the market, we had to look at compounding average annual growth rate and see how we project what cement demand will be, and out of that we decided … after discussion at cabinet, we're going to offer other importers apart from Buying House,” Hill said.

According to Hill, these companies were selected after they contacted the Government to offer their assistance to address the cement shortage.

“Since everybody knew there was a shortage, there were a number of people who wrote to us and say we would like to import cement to alleviate the shortage, and we responded to those who asked,” he said, when asked the criteria under which these companies were chosen.

Declaring that the “demand supply equilibrium is coming back to normal”, he said approved companies are currently setting up their arrangements for importation.

“We know that the supply is here to meet that demand,” he said.

“After Melissa is gone, people are putting on back their roofs, but they're not putting on metal roofs. [Instead] many of them are slabbing their roofs, more cement. You have to build back the houses, some of them that were blown out, [so] more cement. You're building roads [and] sometimes roads and culverts need cement. So the demand was great.” 

However, Hill pointed out that there will be “special arrangements” in place to cater to the cement demands under the National Reconstruction and Resilient Authority (NaRRA), the agency tasked to lead Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts.

“So we have to put in special arrangements, which we're thinking of, and we know largely what we're going to do with the NaRRA demand, but it's not in this allocation of imports,” he said.

The cement shortage in Jamaica was triggered by heavy rainfall and raw material issues that impacted production at the Caribbean Cement Company Limited’s Rockfort plant. It was further compounded by high demand for infrastructure projects in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

Meanwhile, the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ), which has consistently raised concerns about shortage across Jamaica, said the minister’s announcement is welcomed, but noted that it is a short-term response to the issue.

“What is the long-term plan, since this is a short-term solution? What is a long-term plan? How are we gonna address issues of monitoring and resilience and consistency of supply, so that when we start reconstruction and when the country continues business as usual into the future, how do we maintain the supply and avoid any shocks?” IMAJ President Richard Mullings quizzed.

He said his organisation is amenable to “all fair and positive competition for supplying the construction industry”, but stressed the need for established systems.

“This doesn’t just apply to importers or manufacturers, but to anybody who has market share that is protected by or designated by the Government. There must be a system to monitor and ensure the consistency of the supply,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com