The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has uncovered indications of possible price manipulation in Nigeria’s cement market following a three-month industry-wide investigation into the rising cost of the commodity.
According to an official statement signed by Ondaje Ijagwu, Director, Corporate Affairs, FCCPC, preliminary findings from a 40-page field report compiled by the Commission’s Anticompetitive Practices Department (ACP) suggest that prevailing cement prices may not be fully explained by legitimate production and market costs.
The investigation was launched in response to widespread complaints over the high price of cement, a key input in Nigeria’s construction sector, and examined market conditions in Nigeria and selected countries across Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa.
The Commission said concerns were heightened by the comparatively high retail price of cement in Nigeria despite the country’s substantial limestone deposits, significant domestic production capacity and reported surplus installed capacity relative to domestic consumption.
The investigation covered markets including Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria, with the Commission assessing factors such as limestone availability, population, production capacity and domestic consumption.
In Kenya, for instance, the Commission found that a 50kg bag of cement sold for about $5.40, equivalent to N7,344, in Nairobi in 2025. Tanzania, with a population significantly smaller than Nigeria’s, recorded a retail price of about $4.80, or N6,528, while a bag sold for about $6.75, equivalent to N9,180, in Togo, which has no significant limestone deposits.
By comparison, the FCCPC said market intelligence showed that the retail price of a 50kg bag of cement in Nigeria increased significantly during the first half of 2026.
According to the Commission, cement that sold for between N9,300 and N9,700 in January was selling for between N10,500 and N13,000 by mid-year, while prices of between N13,000 and N15,000 were reported in some parts of the country by July.
The FCCPC said Nigeria currently has installed cement production capacity of more than 60 to 65 million metric tonnes annually, against estimated domestic consumption of about 25 to 30 million metric tonnes.
It noted that Nigeria is also a net exporter of cement to neighbouring countries.
The Commission expressed concern that the substantial excess production capacity had not translated into downward pressure on domestic prices, as might ordinarily be expected in a competitive market.
Industry participants have attributed the high cost of cement to factors including energy costs, the depreciation of the naira and its impact on imported machinery and spare parts, as well as transportation and logistics expenses.
However, the FCCPC said it was testing these explanations against verified information on production costs, pricing, capacity utilisation and prevailing market conditions.
It said the preliminary findings provided sufficient grounds for the investigation to continue to determine whether cement prices were justified by legitimate costs and market conditions or whether there was evidence of coordinated conduct, abuse of market power, restriction of domestic supply, anti-competitive distribution practices or other violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
The Commission has consequently issued Notices of Commencement of Investigation and Summons to Produce to key players in the cement sector.
The affected companies have been directed to provide information and records relating to their pricing methodologies, production and capacity utilisation, exports and relevant commercial relationships.
The FCCPC noted that all major cement manufacturers in the country had cooperated with the investigation by making their records available, except one company.
Publicly available estimates indicate that three major undertakings account for more than 90 per cent of installed cement production capacity in Nigeria.
Explaining the Commission’s intervention, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Mr. Tunji Bello, said the investigation was part of the Commission’s responsibility to examine market conditions with significant implications for consumers and the wider economy.
“Cement occupies a strategic place in the Nigerian economy. Its price affects the cost of building a home, developing commercial property, delivering public infrastructure and, ultimately, the cost of doing business,” Bello said.
He stressed that where concerns persisted over the functioning of such a critical market, the Commission had a responsibility to establish the facts rather than rely on assumptions.
Bello further clarified that the competition investigation was not intended to dictate the commercial decisions of businesses, but to determine whether the market was functioning competitively and whether consumers were benefiting from effective competition.
“Businesses are entitled to make legitimate commercial decisions and earn returns on their investments. Competition law does not prevent that. Its purpose is to protect the competitive process, so that prices, output and other market outcomes are determined by genuine competition rather than conduct that unlawfully restricts it,” he said.
