Modern Quarrying Q4 2020

Bheki Mthembu, head of the Inland Business Unit at PPC.

CEMENT

The impact of COVID-19 on the South African cement industry has been devastating, with Bheki Mthembu, head of the Inland Business Unit for Africa’s largest cement producer, PPC, describing it as the ‘final straw’ for an industry already in survival mode prior to the pandemic. By Munesu Shoko. UNPACKING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON SA’S CEMENT INDUSTRY

T hat the cement industry in South Africa is in dire straits due to the COVID-19 pandemic is no overstatement. While almost all sectors of the economy have been hit hard, Bheki Mthembu acknowledges that the cement industry is one of the worst-hit during the current pandemic. According to Mthembu, the industry was already in survival mode pre-COVID-19 and the outbreak of the pandemic pretty much served

as the “final nail in the coffin”. The business environment pre-COVID-19 was already tough, with the industry operating at almost half of its capacity, with the importation of cheap cement from Asia undercutting local manufacturers by at least 45% exacerbating the situation. “Prior to COVID-19, the cement industry in South Africa was already at ‘rock bottom’, with most of the cement producers having to halve their capacities. We also had to fight against the importation of cheap, substandard cement into

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MODERN QUARRYING QUARTER 4 - 2020