Nigeria’s cement market grew by 15.6 percent to 21.2 million tons in 2013, as strong economic growth and rising population, urbanization and incomes continued to underpin demand for the building material.
“As the Nigerian cement market grew by a strong 15.6 percent we managed even better growth of 28.2 percent, with our revenues increasing by 29.4 percent to N386.2bn.Our direct-delivery strategy is proving very popular with customers and I am pleased to report that direct-to-customer deliveries now account for more than half of our sales,” Devakumar Edwin Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement the market leader said in a statement announcing full year 2013 results.
Nigeria’s economy has expanded 6 percent a year since 2006, according to the World Bank.
Building and Construction grew at 14.31 percent in the third quarter of 2013 according to the National bureau of Statistics (NBS) which has continued to drive strong demand for cement.
Likewise, the Real Estate sector rose by 10.35 percent and has achieved double-digit growth every quarter since Q1 2012.
Nigeria’s cement production of 21.2 million tons in 2013 compares with South African demand for cement which is currently around 12.5mta and production capacity of approximately 14mta.
Including 2013, long-term growth in Nigerian cement consumption has risen by 10.9 percent per year since 2004.
Analysts say there is room for the growth to continue as Nigeria is still operating from a low base.
Assuming a population of 168 million, Nigeria’s per-capita consumption of cement was 126kg in 2013.
This is very low compared with the global average of around 510kg, including China, as estimated in the Global Cement Report Edition X.
PATRICK ATUANYA
