Jamaica’s cement shortage ends

Jamaica’s cement shortage has ended. According to the minister for Investment and Commerce in Jamaica, Senator Aubyn Hill, the Caribbean Cement Co Ltd (CCCL) has assured him that adequate supplies of cement are now available to consumers. In a ministerial statement to members of the Upper House, Hill said the company told him on that enough cement was on the market for players in the construction industry.

Earlier this month, CCCL confirmed that it could not meet the demand in the local market but had committed to address the shortfall in a matter of days, reported the Jamaican Gleaner. 

While quotas were given to importers to prevent huge fluctuations in the supply of cement in the marketplace, Mr Hill had a warning for importers with unused stock. “I am making it clear to importers that when you come back to me, we are not going to be able to give you additional quotas if you have substantial unused quotas for months that were not used,” he said

The industry, investment and commerce minister said infrastructure projects, housing and commercial developments have driven up the demand for cement. He indicated that repairs to infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Beryl in July have also significantly increased the demand for cement.

According to Mr Hill, a detailed market analysis carried out by his ministry between January and August 2024 revealed a decline in cement production, averaging an eight per cent drop per month. Total domestic sales during this period amounted to 741,052t, while total production for the similar timeline was 624,701t, which fell below demand on the domestic market.

He said Caribbean Cement had a scheduled maintenance programme from 12 August to 3 September 2024, which significantly affected the supply of cement in the market.