South Africa: The potential creation of regional production and distribution operations from West China Cement’s (WCC) acquisition of AfriSam - coupled to its earlier acquisitions in southern Africa - could result in preferential trade access to cheap imports at the expense of local producers. This is according to Philippa Rodseth, the executive director of the Manufacturing Circle, South Africa’s association of large manufacturing companies.
Rodseth said that the deal, which was approved by the Competition Commission in December 2025, had serious potential implications for local cement producers, claiming that countries in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) enjoyed preferential trade access with respect to several goods, including cement.
Rodseth said South Africa's cement sector is structurally oversupplied and that the local industry is challenged by weak domestic demand, excess production capacity, and rising electricity and logistics costs. "The creation of a regional production and distribution platform capable of supplying cement into South Africa from neighbouring countries enjoying preferential SACU and SADC trade access has the risk of being exploited."
Matias Cardarelli, CEO of South Africa-based cement producer PPC, said that West China Cement already operates a cement import business to South Africa from its Mozambique operation. "The proposed acquisition raises serious concerns for South African local production, with AfriSam downsizing its production in South Africa and moving production to Mozambique, where West China Cement has significant spare capacity. It will become a distribution platform for Mozambique-produced cement,” said Cardarelli. “In fact, this transaction creates strong incentives to abandon local manufacturing since clearly it is cheaper to produce cement in Mozambique and sell it in South Africa with no tariffs." Cardarelli stressed that PPC would not lower its health and safety or environmental standards in South Africa in order to compete with cheaper imports, reiterating his company’s commitment to high-quality South African-made cement.
Companies in South Africa’s construction sector have long pleaded with government and regulators for tariff measures to protect the local cement sector from the dumping of imports from markets such as Pakistan. In response, International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa commissioner Ayabonga Cawe said that ordinary customs duties on cement imports are bound at zero in line with the country’s obligations under the World Trade Organisation General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
