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Ghana: According to local media Modern Ghana, George Dawson-Ahmoah, chairman of the Ghana Cement Manufacturers Association (GCMA), has called for the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imported cement to rid the industry of unfair trade practices by importers and protect investments by local cement manufacturers and the employment of locals.
Dawson-Ahmoah urged the government to take its cue from South Africa, which recently imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on cement originating from Pakistan. South Africa imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on cement from Pakistan from 15 May 2015 following investigations initiated by the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) on 22 August 2014 after a number of local cement producing companies submitted an application on behalf of the industry.
Dumping occurs when companies export their goods to foreign markets at prices lower than what they charge for the same product in their home market. When dumping causes material injury to an industry in the market to which the products are exported, it is considered unfair trade.
Dawson-Ahmoah said that since countries are entitled to act in terms of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and procedures with an objective to level the playing field between domestic producers and foreign competitors, Ghana's government should act appropriately to defend the local market from undue price under cuttings, which have the potential to 'destabilise' the industry.
Lafarge tackles hurdles to refuse-derived fuels production in Egypt
Written by David Perilli, Global Cement
03 June 2015
Encouraging news from Egypt with the announcement that Lafarge Ecocem has taken on two refuse-derived fuels (RDF) contracts in Suez and Qalyubeya. The RDF plants will have production capacities of 42,000t/yr and 280,000t/yr respectively, after upgrades are built.
The move follows a deal Lafarge struck with Orascom in March 2015 to develop a waste management framework of municipal and agricultural waste. The plan is to achieve an average fuel substitution rate of 25% by the end of 2015. Around the same time Ecocem also signed a cooperation agreement with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and the Qalyubeya Governorate to upgrade a recycling plant in Qalyubeya to produce RDF. Part of the deal was intended to reinvest some of the revenue from RDF sales back into the region's waste collection infrastructure.
These production levels compare to SITA UK's new RDF plants in the UK, which has a more mature RDF market. There, the newly opened Malpass Farm plant is planned to produce 200,000t/yr and the Tilbury plant will have an output capacity of 500,000t/yr when it opens. However, the Malpass Farm plant mainly feeds one cement plant, the 1.3Mt/yr Cemex Rugby plant with a mean substitution rate of 61% in 2013. By contrast, Lafarge Cement Egypt runs the massive 10.6Mt/yr El Sokhna plant.
Co-processing at El Sokhna by Lafarge is of particular interest given the links with Egypt's unofficial household waste collectors, the Zabbaleen. Lafarge Egypt recruited and trained 140 Zabbaleen to gather waste material for RDF production. The strategy enabled Lafarge to gather continuous supplies of RDF and strengthen local stakeholder relations, as Lafarge's 2013 sustainability report puts it. Lafarge Egypt's substitution rate was 2.2% in 2012 with significant improvements made since then. The current target of 25% for the end of 2015 shows how much progress Lafarge has made.
Hisham Sherif of the Egyptian Company for Solid Waste Recycling (Ecaru) placed Egypt's municipal solid waste level at 20Mt/yr at a presentation given at the Global CemFuels Conference earlier in 2015. From this 4Mt/yr of RDF could be produced. Together with biomass derived fuel (BDF) Sherif reckoned that the country's cement plants could reach substitution rates of 30 – 40%. Problems though with increasing RDF rates in Egypt include legal complexities, institutional issues, poor services and monitoring and centralised planning with little regard for the country's unofficial waste pickers, such as the Zabaleen.
Lafarge Ecocem appears to be tackling each of these problems in turn as the deals with Orascom and the Qalyubeya Governorate show. However, spare a thought for Egypt's unofficial waste sector workers who are likely to lose their livelihoods as waste management becomes more formalised and personnel rates per tonne of waste collected tumble.
For more information on the Zabaleen, check out the documentary made about them in 2009, called 'Garbage Dreams'.
INC looks to expand fuels mixture 03 June 2015
Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) is looking to diversify its fuels mixture to include other types of oils and possibly biofuels. The company has signed an agreement with the engineering faculty at Asuncion National University (FIUNA) to certify the use of biofuels. INC's president Jorge Mendez believes that, from 2016, INC may start using a variety of fuels, following a US$50m investment in its furnace. This could save US$22m/yr, but it will not necessarily mean that biofuel will be used.
House of Representatives try to avert clash between Edo and Kogi over limestone deposit 03 June 2015
Nigeria: On 2 June 2015 the House of Representatives intervened in a dispute between Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim and Company (AICO) in Kogi State and Okpella in Edo State over the ownership of a limestone deposit. The motion on the issue, which came as a matter of Urgent National Importance, moved by Edo lawmaker Abubakar Momoh, was unanimously adopted by the House.
"This peaceful co-existence is being threatened by the purported sale of OBU Limestone in Okpella, owned by Okpella Cement, to Dangote Company by Alhaji Ado Ibrahim. This is with a view to frustrating BUA Cement Company, which acquired Okpella Cement as a private investor," said Momoh.
According to Momoh, BUA has also built a cement plant in Okpella, which is due for inauguration in June 2015. "The House recalls that when in 1994, this same ownership of OBU Limestone deposit arose, the Okpella community went to court on the issue. The suit was filed against AICO, which prompted AICO to file application in 1997 to the Okpella community for local consent. The consent was turned down on account of having already granted the same to Edo Cement, which owned the mining license of the deposit," said Momoh.
According to Momoh, if nothing was done immediately to settle the matter, it might lead to a clash between the parties. He urged the security agencies to make adequate security arrangements in the location. "The governments of Edo and Kogi should intervene and settle the matter amicably, before it degenerates into serious inter-communal clash between the two states. The National Boundary Commission is urged to intervene with a view to permanently establishing the boundary between Edo and Kogi."
The acting speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, who presided over the plenary session, advised the two communities to maintain peace and assured them that the house would do its best to resolve the issue.
Devnya Cement opens Euro166m cement line 03 June 2015
Bulgaria: Devnya Cement, part of Italcementi Group, has formally launched a Euro166m clinker and cement line at its plant near Varna on the Black Sea. The investment project, which was launched in 2012, included an overhaul of the existing conveyer belt for raw materials to the plant and the construction of new infrastructure, logistic and office facilities.