Displaying items by tag: CCI

South Africa: Lafarge is considering approaching the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa to protect the local market from what it calls 'low-quality cheap cement' imported from Pakistan. The multinational is concerned that substandard products are being used for large infrastructure projects in the country, including the construction of hospitals, government housing and schools. Some importers are labelling cement as flour to dodge quality tests. Yet when the regulators do test imported product, they refuse to disclose the outcome, citing confidentiality.

"Imports are a concern for several reasons; sometimes the prices are very low, which affects us financially. We are looking at approaching the International Trade Administration Commission of SA to intervene in the market, but no decision has been made," said Lafarge South Africa CEO Thierry Legrand. He added that some cement sellers did not comply with the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, yet had import licences. Other domestic producers including AfriSam and Pretoria Portland Cement have also expressed concern at the situation.

In 2011 three companies importing from Lucky Cement, Pakistan's biggest cement exporter, were shut down. Cement and Concrete Institute (CCI) managing director Bryan Perrie said that 140,000t of cement were imported into South Africa in the first quarter of 2012 and that a substantial portion of it probably came from Lucky Cement. "People have struggled to keep accurate import statistics of cement but we know that Lucky is a major importer. People bring cement in as flour, so the statistics of how much comes in is often incorrect," he said.

Importers in South Africa are supposed to test samples for every 500t of imported cement. Yet when the CCI asked third-party regulators about the results of these checks, they were told this was confidential. The CCI had asked the regulator to publish a list of cement importers online, recording which products had letters of authority, but this has not happened.

India: After setting a precedent by fining 11 cement companies a combined US$1.13bn in June 2012, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has now imposed a penalty of US$71.5m on Shree Cement for indulging in restrictive trade practices.

The CCI has imposed the penalty on Shree Cement while issuing final order in the case against cement manufacturers and their trade body, the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA). "The commission has also imposed a penalty on Shree Cement at the rate of 0.5 times its profits for the years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 aggregating to US$71.5m," said the CCI in a statement.

"We have not seen the CCI order. Let us first go through the order and then we will decide on the future course of action in consultation with our lawyers, " commented H M Bangur, the managing director of Shree Cement.

The CCI found 11 cement manufacturers, including Shree Cement Limited and CMA, in contravention of the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 which deal with anti-competitive agreements including cartels. As the cement companies (except Shree Cement) were already found to be in cartel in Case No. 29 of 2010 and penalised by the CCI via its order dated on 20 June 2012, the CCI decided not to order remedies including imposition of penalty on such companies again for the same period of contravention.

It has been reported by local media that since the fine in June 2011 Indian cement prices have continued to rise, with Rayalaseema Rashtra Samiti president Kuncham Venkatasubba Reddy threatening an indefinite hunger-strike over high prices.