By: Fatou Krubally
The Confederation of Gambian Industries (CGI) has attributed the country’s persistent cement shortage to port bottlenecks, policy gaps, and weak market governance, warning that piecemeal interventions will fail unless urgent and coordinated reforms are undertaken.
In a policy brief dated December 25, 2025, shared with this newspaper, CGI says the crisis is not the result of a single failure but a convergence of logistical constraints, policy-induced market distortions, and structural weaknesses in competition oversight.
According to the industry body, limitations at the Port of Banjul remain a major trigger. CGI noted that insufficient channel depth and berthing capacity have prevented modern cement vessels from docking, leaving significant volumes of cement stranded offshore. This, it said, has delayed supply and driven up costs.
“Without accelerated dredging and interim mitigation measures, the port will remain a structural bottleneck that amplifies future supply shocks,” CGI warned.
The brief also pointed to recent excise and tariff adjustments on bagged cement imports, alongside route restrictions, as having altered market incentives. CGI said these measures have raised landed costs for importers, particularly smaller traders, while reducing competitive pressure in the market.
While acknowledging that protecting local industry can be justified, CGI stressed that such protection must be time-bound, targeted, and linked to measurable performance. Otherwise, it cautioned, protection risks entrenching market concentration rather than building sustainable domestic manufacturing.
CGI further raised concerns about market structure and governance, citing high concentration, opaque permitting processes, and limited price transparency. Weak competition enforcement, it said, allows temporary supply disruptions to translate into prolonged price hikes, to the detriment of consumers and construction-related businesses.
As evidence of the impact, CGI reported that retail prices for a 50kg bag of cement have risen from historical averages of GMD 300–400 to GMD 500–650 in many markets. The consequences include stalled private construction projects, rising public infrastructure costs, closure of small brick-making enterprises, and job losses.
To stabilise the market, CGI proposed immediate measures including a temporary, supervised import window through competitive licensing, mandatory price transparency for wholesalers and distributors, and temporary rationalisation of tariffs on certified emergency consignments. It also called for the establishment of an emergency coordination task force involving government agencies, the Gambia Ports Authority, industry bodies, and consumer groups.
In the medium to long term, CGI urged accelerated port modernisation, an independent competition inquiry into the cement value chain, and a coherent national cement strategy aligned with ECOWAS and AfCFTA frameworks.
“The cement shortage is both an operational and governance challenge,” CGI said, urging the government to act decisively, transparently, and without delay.