Why Importing Cement from Togo Could Reset Ghana’s Cement Industry

Introduction: A Border Price Gap Too Big to Ignore

In Accra, a 50kg bag of cement now sells for between GH₵100 and GH₵110. Just a few kilometres away across the border in Lomé, Togo, the same bag costs around GH₵81. This 30 percent gap is more than a quirk of geography — it is a mirror reflecting Ghana’s troubled cement industry.

Ghana’s Cement Producers Under Scrutiny

The Ghanaian cement market is controlled by a few dominant players: Ghacem, Dangote, CIMAF, Supacem, Dzata Cement and others. Over the last two years, producers have come under increasing criticism for:

• Flouting Transparency Rules: Ghana Standards Authority’s L.I. 2491 (2024) requires monthly ex-factory price declarations. Several producers have failed to comply.
• Resisting Price Adjustments: Even when the cedi gained strength in 2025, prices did not fall. Instead, manufacturers moved in near lockstep to raise prices further.
• Recurring Shortages: Delays in importing clinker — the main raw material — led to nationwide shortages in 2024 and 2025, pushing prices even higher.

This behaviour has fed public suspicion of collusion and deepened frustration among contractors, builders, and ordinary home-owners.

Togo’s Approach: Discipline and Stability

By contrast, Togo regulates cement prices more tightly. The government sets a ceiling of CFA 81,000 per ton (about GH₵1,620), equivalent to GH₵81 for a 50kg bag. Plants like WACEM/Diamond Cement in Tabligbo operate under this framework, ensuring stability and predictability for both contractors and consumers.

This policy discipline makes Togo’s cement not only cheaper, but also more trusted. And in a borderless regional market, cheaper cement inevitably finds its way into Ghana.

AfCFTA: Legalising Competition Across Borders

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), headquartered in Accra, was designed to break down barriers and allow Africans to buy from each other. Cement, like any other strategic product, falls under this framework.

If Ghanaian contractors or traders choose Togo’s cement because it is cheaper and regulated, AfCFTA makes that choice legitimate. Rather than viewing it as smuggling, it can be seen as a form of market correction that disciplines local inefficiency.

Why Imports Could Strengthen Ghana’s Industry

Far from being a threat, imports from Togo could:

• Force Compliance: Producers that flout pricing regulations would face pressure to reform.
• Break Cartel-Like Patterns: Synchronised price hikes would no longer hold if consumers have alternatives.
• Drive Efficiency: Local producers would be pushed to invest in clinker capacity, cut costs, and modernise operations.
• Enhance Consumer Welfare: Cheaper cement means more affordable housing, infrastructure, and growth.

Protection or Progress?

Ghana’s policymakers are at a crossroads. They can either shield local producers who resist reform, or embrace structured competition that lowers prices and improves accountability. Protectionism has created an opaque market. Imports — if regulated under AfCFTA — could create a fairer one.

Conclusion: A Reset Button for the Industry

Importing cement from Togo is more than a price issue. It is a reset button for Ghana’s cement industry — a tool to enforce discipline, restore transparency, and ensure consumers are no longer trapped in a cycle of shortages and unexplained price hikes.

The trucks crossing at Aflao each night carry more than cement. They carry a message: without competition, there is no accountability.

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