Ghana warned of cartel behavior signs over cement surcharge
CUTS International’s analytical center in Accra expressed competition concerns after the Ghana Cement Manufacturers Chamber (COCMAG) decided to introduce a uniform surcharge of 12 Ghanaian cedis per bag of cement due to demurrage costs for clinker vessels at the Port of Tema. According to MyJoyOnline, CUTS believes that competitors jointly agreeing on an identical price component shows signs of possible cartel behavior.
COCMAG said that the average waiting time for vessels at the Port of Tema increased from seven days in January to between 30 and more than 40 days in August 2026. The industry estimated demurrage costs for the first eight months of the year at $45–50 million.
Surcharge until the end of the year
According to COCMAG, the 12-cedi surcharge consists of 10 cedis before tax and 2 cedis in taxes and levies. The decision was reportedly made at an emergency meeting on August 28, 2026. The surcharge will remain in effect until December 31, will be monitored monthly, and will be reviewed in January 2027.
Appiah Kusi Adomako, Director of CUTS’ West Africa Regional Centre, said that manufacturers have the right to recover justified demurrage costs. At the same time, he stressed that companies that are supposed to compete jointly setting an identical surcharge for consumers raises serious questions from the perspective of antitrust rules.
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Call for independent pricing
CUTS noted that cement manufacturers have different transport arrangements, clinker volumes, inventories, financing costs, operational efficiency, and levels of demurrage risk. Therefore, in the organization’s view, there are no economic grounds to assume that each company’s additional cost per bag is the same.
The center called on COCMAG to explain whether the 12-cedi amount is a collective decision or a recommendation, and whether individual manufacturers can set a lower or higher surcharge or refrain from introducing it altogether. CUTS also warned against exchanging data on future prices, production volumes, individual costs, and clinker inventories during monthly monitoring.
The organization also called on the Ghanaian government and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to urgently address operational problems at the Port of Tema. CUTS added that a formal conclusion on a cartel violation requires examining the content of discussions at the meeting and the practice of applying the surcharge.
