FPI urges DTI to continue safeguard duty on cement

The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) is urging the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to continue imposing a safeguard tariff on imported cement as there is still so much under-utilized capacity locally.

According to the FPI, the operating conditions for local cement manufacturers have gotten even tougher than when the safeguard was imposed.

The costs of fuel and electricity specifically continue to rise.

At the same time, the FPI stressed, there is still so much overcapacity even though there has been a slight improvement.

The least the government can do during these trying times, the FPI said, is to continue with the safeguard measures.

The FPI acknowledged that while there have been some spikes in the price of locally-produced cement, these have been accidental due to temporary shortages.

The FPI assured that if there is enough monitoring of the supply and distribution of locally-produced cement, the temporary price distortions can be avoided.

The FPI urged the local cement industry players to do their part and conduct regular dialogues with major users to prevent temporary shortages and price distortions and ensure a more stable price for cement.