Nigerian billionaire industrialist, Aliko Dangote, has attributed the higher cost of locally produced cement to Nigeria’s high taxes and regulatory burden.
He made the remark during an exclusive interview with Business Insider Africa, emphasizing how fiscal policies inflate domestic prices.
The disparity has drawn public attention, as cement exported from Nigeria often sells for less than what Nigerians pay at home.
What Dangote is saying
Dangote explained that the price gap exists because cement exports are exempt from multiple taxes and levies that apply in Nigeria.
He noted that when examining his invoices, exported cement is cheaper than what is sold domestically, as the savings from not paying income tax, education and health levies, VAT, and withholding tax significantly reduce production costs.
These exemptions, he said, allow Nigerian cement to compete effectively with international producers from countries such as Turkey, Russia, and China.
“When you look at my invoice, the cement I export is cheaper than the one I’m selling domestically, because that’s how exports work.
“In export I’m saving a lot of money, I’m not paying 30% income tax, I’m not paying 2% education, I’m not paying 1% health, I’m not paying 7.5% VAT, and I’m not paying 10% withholding tax,” he said.
Dangote emphasized that the consequence of this system is that domestic consumers end up shouldering the burden of structural inefficiencies.
He added that local manufacturing alone cannot fully resolve high pricing for Nigerians.
What you should know
Concerns over the high cost of cement in Nigeria have persisted among both policymakers and the public.
In February 2025, the Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, urged manufacturers to lower prices to N7,000, citing improved economic conditions. He noted that, at the time, the naira had stabilized at about N1,400 per dollar and petrol prices had dropped, creating an environment conducive to reducing cement costs.
- Umahi criticized the then-prevailing price of N9,500, explaining that manufacturers had raised prices when the dollar was nearly N2,000 but had not adjusted them despite the naira’s recovery.
- He emphasized that affordable cement is essential for constructing Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements and completing key infrastructure projects, warning that some contractors were considering switching back to asphalt due to high costs.
- The concern is not new. In February 2024, Musa Dangiwa, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, highlighted how manufacturers had exploited fluctuating foreign exchange rates to justify sharp price increases.
- At the time, cement prices had risen from N5,500 to around N10,000, more than doubling, prompting Dangiwa to urge manufacturers to innovate rather than pass costs onto Nigerians.
He cautioned that rising cement prices threatened the Ministry’s housing delivery programs, particularly for low- and middle-income earners and vulnerable populations.
Cement prices in Nigeria today hover between N9,500 and N10,200 for a 50kg bag.
