A group of cement importers cautioned Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) against imposing additional restrictions on the entry of the commodity into the Philippines.

In a statement issued by the traders, it said cement importers said the volume of imports has “remained steady” over the years, as they said the double-digit growth over the past few years were due to the opening up after quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The cement traders Cohaco Merchandizing & Development Corp. (Cohaco), Fortem Cement Corp. (Fortem), NGC Land Corp. (NGC), Pabaza Import and Export Inc. (Pabaza), and Philcement Corporation (Philcement), said further restriction would lead to higher prices and that investigations would be “unnecessary and counterproductive” and there was no significant increase in the past years.

“Cement suppliers, particularly importers, were compelled to increase the volume of imports to meet the demand for cement in the country,” a position paper addressed to the DTI said.

This comes after Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, pursuant to the Safeguard Measures Act, earlier issued a notice directing a preliminary investigation covering cement importation for the years 2019 to 2024.

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Among the factors that triggered the investigation is the increase in cement imports — 10% in 2020, 17% in 2021, and 5% in 2023. The share of imports also increased from 30% in 2019, 47% in 2023, and 51% in January to June 2024.

According to the traders, the “reported surge in import volumes did not occur” as they said that figures do not accurately reflect the volume of imported cement sold in the Philippine market, as a portion of this is used as a raw material for production of locally manufactured cement.

“Clearly, the increase in importation is not due to a surge warranting the imposition of safeguard measures. Instead, it is primarily a consequence of reduced domestic production coupled with the necessity to meet ongoing demand,” the importers said in the position paper.

For its part, local cement makers and the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) earlier expressed support for the DTI probe, citing the urgent need to safeguard the domestic cement sector.