For the first time, Lafarge Cement, the country’s leading cement manufacturer, has imported 7,300 metric tons of cement from Taiwan as contingency supply while its bulk cement line in its Bulacan plant undergoes annual maintenance work.

Cirilo M. Pestano, vice-president for communications of Lafarge Cement Services (Philippines) Inc., said the Department of Trade and Industry has advised them the shipment, which arrived last Tuesday, January 12, could no longer avail of the zero tariff privilege and therefore be slapped with the regular most favored nation tariff of 5 percent.

“This importation will supplement or serve as security stock for us while our bulk cement line is under repair,” Pastano said.

According to Pestano, the annual maintenance for this particular line of its Republic Bulacan plant would last for 10 days.

Maintenance work started Wenesday, January 13.

Pestano explained they have decided to import for the first time to beef up its stock because they cannot afford a repeat of the tightness in cement supply last December as most cement plants underwent annual repair and maintenance work.

“We cannot afford not to have enough supply because we have the lion share of the bulk cement market in the country. We cannot fail our clients,” he said.

Lafarge accounts for as much as 80 percent market share in Luzon alone. Bulk cement is used for high-rise building and road construction and carries stringent quality measures than the ordinary cement.

Its bulk cement line in Bulacan has an average daily output of 30,000 bags. The cement imported 7,500 metric ton cement, which is equivalent to 182,500 bags of cement is good for 6 days. The company, however, has an inventory that could last for a week.

Pestano has refused to divulge the cost of the imports except to say that it is a lot more expensive than producing locally.

“We have to sacrifice because we cannot afford to fail our clients,” he said. Bulk cement, however, is a little bit cheaper than the bagged cement because they no longer incur packaging cost as these are delivered straight to contractors in bulk.

The imported cement has been unloaded at its silo in Harbour Center Port Terminal in North Harbor. The silo was acquired by Lafarge when the company bought the Japanese “owned Southern Cross Cement Corp. two years ago.