Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah, Ghana's Trade and Industry Minister, is being encouraged by the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) Ghana to take immediate action to defend the local cement industry.

Solomon Kotei, the general secretary of the union, called on the government to immediately "as per Legislative Instrument 2240, put a regulation on quotas and sign and clear the license approval process with the Cement Monitoring Committee."

Cement producers grievances include: "under declaration of CIF values, lower tariffs, export subsidies, dumping, under declaration of volumes imported, and abuses at bonded warehousing," said Mr Kotei.

"The local cement manufacturers who are over-burdened with high corporate taxes and import duties on their raw materials are being unfairly competed with these foreign importers. The unfair trade practices enables the foreign cement importers to flood the local cement market with lowly-priced cement of questionable quality, to the detriment of the nation,” Mr Kotei added.

Mr Kotei said the Minister of Trade should, "review any inimical trade protocols, agreements with foreign cement producers/importers that have been found to undermine cement produced locally."

He called on the Minister, "to check and put a stop to unfair trade practices by foreign cement producers/importers which, caused unfair competition in the cement industry in Ghana."

He further called on the Ministry to, "put a hold on bagged imported cement to allow investigation into the unfair trade practices."