The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has launched a major investigation into possible manipulation of cement prices in Nigeria, amid findings that the country has substantial excess production capacity yet continues to record steep increases in the price of cement.
The Commission said preliminary findings from a three-month, cross-border investigation by its Anticompetitive Practices Department (ACP) provided sufficient grounds to deepen the probe into the pricing and supply practices of major cement manufacturers.
The 40-page field reports followed widespread complaints over the high cost of cement, a critical input in Nigeria’s construction industry.
According to the FCCPC, the price of a 50kg bag of cement rose from between N9,300 and N9,700 in January 2026 to between N10,500 and N13,000 by mid-year. By July, prices as high as N15,000 were reported in some parts of the country.
The Commission said the findings were particularly concerning because Nigeria has an estimated installed cement production capacity of between 60 million and 65 million metric tonnes per annum, compared with domestic consumption of only about 25 million to 30 million tonnes.
Nigeria is also reportedly a net exporter of cement to neighbouring countries.
“Significantly, all the major cement manufacturers in the country cooperated with the Commission by making their records available except one of them,” the FCCPC said.
Publicly available estimates indicate that three major companies control more than 90 per cent of the country’s installed cement production capacity.
The investigation also compared Nigeria’s cement market with those of Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Togo, examining factors including limestone availability, population, production capacity and domestic consumption.
The comparison raised further questions about Nigeria’s pricing.
In Kenya, which has a population of about 58.6 million, domestic cement demand was approximately 9.3 million tonnes in 2025, while a bag sold for about $5.40 (N7,344) in Nairobi.
Tanzania, with a population of about 66.3 million and similar cement demand of 9.3 million tonnes, recorded a retail price of about $4.80 (N6,528) per bag.
Even Togo, which does not have significant limestone deposits, recorded a price of about $6.75 (N9,180) per bag.
The FCCPC said industry participants had cited energy costs, the depreciation of the naira, the rising cost of imported machinery and spare parts, as well as transportation and logistics expenses as major drivers of cement prices.
But the Commission said it was testing those explanations against verified information on production costs, pricing, capacity utilisation and broader market conditions.
“At this stage, the Commission is not making a final determination of wrongdoing,” it said, adding that the preliminary findings warranted further investigation.
The next phase will determine whether prevailing cement prices are justified by legitimate costs and market conditions or whether there is evidence of coordinated conduct, abuse of market power, restriction of domestic supply, anti-competitive distribution practices or other violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
The FCCPC has consequently issued Notices of Commencement of Investigation and Summons to Produce to key players in the sector.
The companies are required to submit information and records covering their pricing methodologies, production and capacity utilisation, exports and relevant commercial relationships.
Explaining the intervention, FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said cement was too strategically important to the Nigerian economy for the Commission to ignore concerns about its pricing.
“Cement occupies a strategic place in the Nigerian economy. Its price affects the cost of building a home, developing commercial property, delivering public infrastructure and, ultimately, the cost of doing business,” Bello said.
“When concerns persist about how such an important market is functioning, the Commission has a duty to look beyond assumptions and establish the facts.”
Bello stressed that the investigation was not aimed at controlling the commercial decisions of cement manufacturers or preventing them from making legitimate profits.
“Businesses are entitled to make legitimate commercial decisions and earn returns on their investments. Competition law does not prevent that,” he said.
He added that the objective was to ensure that prices, output and other market outcomes were driven by genuine competition rather than unlawful practices that restrict competition.
The investigation is expected to place the pricing and market practices of Nigeria’s dominant cement producers under heightened regulatory scrutiny as the FCCPC seeks to establish why substantial excess production capacity has failed to translate into lower prices for Nigerian consumers.
