Dangote Cameroon cement sales stable at 1.2Mt in 2018

Dangote Cement sold 1.2Mt of cement in Cameroon in 2018, reflecting stable sales when compared with the previous years, according to the Nigeria-based company.

Dangote Cameroon said the stagnation of its performance can be explained partly by the arrival of “a new competitor” in the market, Cameroonian company Egin SA, which produced around 100,000t in 2018.

In addition, following price cuts by competitors earlier in the year, the average cement price in Cameroon reached US$107/t at the end of the year.

These factors reduced Dangote’s market share in the country from 47 to 41 per cent YoY. However, the company retains its market leadership in front of LafargeHolcim-owned Cimencam.

For 2019 Dangote announced it will improve its logistics to expand its market presence and compete more effectively with other suppliers. In addition, it will supply clinker from its Nigerian and Republic of Congo cement works. At present the 1.5Mta Cameroonian plant relies mainly on clinker from other African countries.

Total domestic cement production in Cameroon edged up to 2.9Mt in 2018 from 2.8Mt in 2017. Both Cimencam and Dangote run 1.5Mta of capacity with an additional 0.5Mta by Cimaf and 0.2Mta by Medcem. According to the country’s Ministry of Economy market shares are: Dangote – 45 per cent, Cimencam – 30 per cent, Cimaf – 22 per cent and Medcem – three per cent.