Minister of Trade and Industry Vitumbiko Mumba has warned local cement producers to play ball by making the product available on the market or face competition from imports from neighbouring Zambia.
The minister expressed the sentiments during a press conference in Lilongwe last evening amid a cement shortage that has pushed the price of a 50 kilogramme (kg) bag to as high as K50 000 from around K30 000 two weeks ago.
Mumba said following government’s intervention, cement prices should drop below K35 000 per 50kg bag.
He said that on August 12 2025 he met major Zambian cement producers, including Chilanga Cement and Sinoma Cement Company to supply the commodity to Malawi at reduced prices.
Said Mumba: “The first meeting was held with Brian Chin, CEO of Chilanga Cement Company Limited, who agreed to supply Malawi with 300 tonnes of 32.5N Portland cement per day at $105 per tonne, $9 less than the actual price per tonne.
“I held a similar meeting with representatives of Sinoma Company Ltd, who proposed supplying cement at $105 per tonne for 32.5N and $118 per tonne for 42.5N [$7 less per tonne].”
He also said government has removed a 10 percent surcharge on imported cement and will eliminate Guided Values previously set at 10.5 percent on cement imports from Zambia.
In the meantime, 12 000 bags of cement are said to be at border points awaiting clearance.
Mumba also warned local cement companies against hoarding, saying the government will import more cement from Zambia if they “don’t play ball”.
In the short-term, he said Cement Products Limited and Portland Cement Limited have committed to increase deliveries to the Central Region this week where supply challenges have been most prevalent.
Mumba has also warned local sugar companies that government will flood the market with sugar imports from Brazil and India to stabilise prices if local companies continue hiking costs or hoarding supplies.
He accused some distributors of deliberately hoarding sugar to frustrate government efforts and destabilise the administration.
In an earlier interview, Chamber of Mines and Minerals national coordinator Grain Malunga said escalating transport costs have contributed to the situation.
“Cement prices are increasing due to increase on transportation costs and prices of local raw materials. Coal prices have increased too at local and international level,” he said.
Malawi has three cement producers, namely Shayona Cement Corporation based in Kasungu, Cement Products Limited in Mangochi and Portland Cement Malawi in Blantyre. The trio has a production capacity of 822 012 metric tonnes (MT) against an annual market demand of 1 782 000MT.
During the briefing, Mumba also said Malawi and Zambia have signed a new agreement to simplify trade between them.
He said following the agreement, agricultural products such as maize, ground nuts, beans and sorghum will now only need quality certification once in the country where they are produced.
The arrangement means that products certified by the Malawi Bureau of Standards will not be re-checked by Zambian authorities and vice-versa.
