INC call for tougher cement import controls in Paraguay

Paraguay’s Industria Nacional de Cemento (INC) has called upon the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) to require precertification of the quality of imported cement. The company said the large inflows of imported cement are damaging its sales on the domestic market.

INC head Carlos Krüssel said that the cement producer had already asked the National Customs Directorate (DNA) for more controls on cement imports. He added that the National Institute of Technology, Standardisation and Metrology (INTN) should be responsible for precertification of the quality of imported cement.

Krüssel lamented that INC notes considerable volumes of imported cement which "constitutes unfair competition for local industry, on one hand, and a severe risk to structures built with this type of cement."

In November, 706,484 bags of cement were imported, up from the previous month’s. Meanwhile, the Paraguayan producer recorded a drop in sales of around 170,000 bags, from 1,191,706 in October. As a result, INC held a 55.7 per cent market share in November.