- GPHA Pushes Back on Clinker Surcharge as Cement Makers Cite US$50m Demurrage Hit
The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has pushed back against attempts by cement manufacturers to use congestion at Tema Port as a broad justification for higher cement prices, arguing that logistical delays should not automatically be transferred to consumers.
The intervention follows the introduction of a temporary GH¢12 per bag clinker demurrage surcharge by the Chamber of Cement Manufacturers, Ghana, or COCMAG, after vessel waiting times reportedly rose sharply.
The dispute has opened a wider debate over who should ultimately bear the cost of inefficiencies in Ghana’s port and industrial logistics system.
COCMAG says average vessel waiting times increased from about seven days in January to between 30 and more than 40 days by August, creating exceptional demurrage costs for clinker importers.
The GH¢12 charge consists of GH¢10 before tax and GH¢2 in applicable taxes and levies, while the Chamber estimates that industry-wide demurrage costs reached between US$45m and US$50m in the first eight months of 2026. Individual vessels are reported to have accumulated charges ranging from US$800,000 to US$1mn.
The manufacturers insist that the surcharge should not be interpreted as a permanent cement price increase, but as a temporary mechanism designed to recover extraordinary costs created by prolonged vessel delays. COCMAG says the charge is expected to remain in force until December 31, 2026, subject to monthly monitoring, with a formal review scheduled for January 2027. That position reflects the reality that demurrage is a genuine cash cost when ships remain offshore far beyond normal turnaround times.
GPHA’s intervention, however, introduces an important distinction between the existence of a cost and the legitimacy of passing that cost directly to consumers. Cement is a critical input into housing, roads, commercial construction and public infrastructure, meaning even a temporary increase can ripple through the wider economy.
If exceptional logistics costs become embedded in cement prices, contractors, developers, government and households could all ultimately absorb part of the burden.
The underlying problem is partly structural. COCMAG says only three main berths are currently available for clinker discharge at Tema Port, while Berths 10 and 11 remain inaccessible to cement importers and manufacturers.
The Chamber has warned that continued congestion could stretch shipment cycles to almost three months, raising both cost and supply risks for an industry that remains materially dependent on imported clinker.
That dependence exposes Ghana’s cement sector to a combination of external and domestic risks. Manufacturers already face international commodity prices, freight costs and exchange-rate movements, but delays at local ports add another layer of expense that can undermine competitiveness.
When vessels carrying a key industrial input spend 30 to 40 days waiting to discharge, the economic effect extends beyond shipping companies into production schedules, working capital and ultimately construction costs.
COCMAG has therefore called for faster vessel turnaround, improved berth capacity and restored access to Berths 10 and 11. Those measures address the source of the cost rather than merely reallocating it among manufacturers and consumers.
Economically, eliminating the bottleneck would be more sustainable than allowing temporary congestion premiums to become a recurring feature of cement pricing.
The controversy also has a competition-policy dimension. CUTS International has raised questions about the uniform GH¢12 surcharge across manufacturers, arguing that individual competitors should determine their own pricing responses rather than collectively settle on a common price component.
“When competitors agree on an element of price rather than determine it independently, such conduct bears the classic hallmarks of cartel behaviour,” CUTS director Appiah Kusi Adomako said.
That warning does not establish that unlawful conduct has occurred, but it does raise a separate regulatory issue from the port-congestion dispute. Industry associations can legitimately represent members in discussions with government or port authorities, but coordinated pricing among competitors can attract scrutiny if it affects market competition. The distinction between collective advocacy and coordinated price-setting therefore needs to remain clear.
The debate consequently sits at the intersection of three competing interests. Manufacturers want to recover genuine and potentially substantial costs, consumers want affordable building materials, and public agencies have a responsibility to prevent infrastructure failures from becoming a permanent surcharge on economic activity. None of those interests can be dismissed without creating new distortions.
The most credible way forward is transparency. Manufacturers should demonstrate the actual demurrage costs attributable to congestion, GPHA should publish measurable improvements in vessel turnaround and berth access, and government should provide a clear timeline for resolving the infrastructure constraints. Competition authorities should also ensure that any common industry response does not weaken independent pricing behaviour.
The issue is particularly sensitive because Ghana’s construction sector is closely tied to both public infrastructure spending and private investment. Higher cement prices can raise project costs, delay construction decisions and reduce the real value of infrastructure budgets.
A temporary logistical problem can therefore become a broader macroeconomic issue if it persists long enough to alter the cost structure of the building industry.
The immediate test is whether the authorities can stop temporary port inefficiencies from becoming permanent structural costs. COCMAG has presented the surcharge as temporary, but that claim will ultimately be tested by whether it disappears once vessel waiting times return towards normal levels.
If it remains after congestion eases, the debate will shift from demurrage recovery to questions about pricing discipline and market competition.
GPHA’s challenge to the manufacturers is therefore about more than the price of a bag of cement. It raises a broader question about whether Ghana solves inefficiencies in critical infrastructure at source or allows those costs to cascade through businesses, construction projects and household budgets.
The real measure of success will be whether Tema Port reduces delays materially and whether the GH¢12 surcharge disappears once the underlying congestion has been addressed.
