Nigeria exempts Dangote Cement from land border closure

Bloomberg | Nigeria has allowed Dangote Cement to resume exports across its land borders, raising hopes that Africa’s most-populous nation may be opening up trade with neighbors after a year-long blockade.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration gave permission for Africa’s biggest cement producer to export to Niger and Togo in the third quarter for the first time in 10 months.

The exemption to Dangote Cement is seen as a softening of the government’s position on a border closure that started in August last year, and could open the way for other businesses to fully resume exports across the country’s land barriers.

Nigerian authorities closed borders with neighboring countries including Benin and Niger to curb smuggling and boost local production. Although the blockade encouraged the consumption of locally grown produce such as rice, it hurt factories across west Africa, which rely on Nigeria’s market of 200 million people.

Dangote Cement resumed land exports with “restricted volumes,” and plans to grow the trade using the sea channels. A total of 69 tons were exported through land borders in the period, less than 1 percent of the 11,741 tons of cement sales in the 9 month through September.

Dangote Cement shares were unchanged at 185 naira (US$0.48) per share by 11:21 a.m. on Tuesday in Lagos, the commercial capital.

The Lagos-based company’s plan to buy back some of its shares has been delayed by market volatility and low liquidity, which have affected valuation.