President of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, has attributed the higher cost of locally produced cement to Nigeria’s high taxes.
He made this known in an exclusive interview with Business Insider Africa.
He also blamed the high cost on regulatory burden, emphasising how fiscal policies inflate domestic prices.
Cement exported from Nigeria is often sold for less in destination countries than what it is sold for at home, drawing flaks from Nigerians.
Dangote explained that the price gap exists because cement exports are exempt from multiple taxes and levies that apply in Nigeria.
According to him, when examining his invoices, exported cement is cheaper than what is sold domestically, as the savings from not paying income tax, education and health levies, VAT, and withholding tax significantly reduce production costs.
Dangote said these exemptions allow Nigerian cement to compete effectively with international producers from countries such as Turkey, Russia, and China.
“When you look at my invoice, the cement I export is cheaper than the one I’m selling domestically, because that’s how exports work.
“In export, I’m saving a lot of money, I’m not paying 30% income tax, I’m not paying 2% education, I’m not paying 1% health, I’m not paying 7.5% VAT, and I’m not paying 10% withholding tax,” he said.
Dangote emphasised that the consequence of this system is that domestic consumers end up shouldering the burden of structural inefficiencies.
He added that local manufacturing alone cannot fully resolve high pricing for Nigerians.
