Lafarge Zimbabwe has blamed a backlog of foreign currency exchange as the cause of a shortage of cement. The commercial director of Lafarge Zimbabwe, Edith Matekaire said that the local cement sector has more than enough production capacity to meet customers’ needs. Matekarai also stated that demand is 1.3Mt/yr and cement production is 2.4Mt/yr. Demand is only expected to exceed production from 2020 onwards.
Matekarai’s sentiments dovetail with some media reports which have it that a US$2m backlog has caused plant maintenance shutdowns to take longer than they normally would. Inadequate funding has also been highlighted as the major factor forcing plant shutdowns to take place during periods of high production, causing shortages in the process and affecting the market.
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