Cement makers halt sales data collection

MANILA, Philippines - The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) has decided to stop collating industry sales data and instead urged the government to collect the figures themselves.

“There’s a policy decision of the board that we will no longer give sales data. So basically the policy is, we will not give data anymore because it is really the government that should do it,” CeMAP president Ernesto Ordonez told The STAR.

“First of all, from the start we thought it’s the government that should give this data. It’s more objective. Second of all, they should be the one collecting the data because if I do it, I’m subject to competition law because why am I getting data about sales,” he added.

Ordonez said he has already wrote to the Department of Trade and Industry informing it about CeMAP’s decision to stop providing cement industry sale figures quarterly.

“It should be government. They are supposed to do it,” he said.

CeMAP is the largest organization of cement manufacturers in the country, accounting for 80 percent of the market.

Its members include the Cemex Philippines Group of Companies, Holcim Philippines Inc., Lafarge Associated Companies and Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc.

The group collates industry sales figures quarterly. Its last report was for cement sales ending 2016, in which it said sales rose 6.6 percent to 25.96 million tons from the previous year’s 24.36 million tons.

CeMAP’s decision comes as the local cement industry is currently under investigation by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) for alleged violations of competitive practices.