CARIBBEAN Cement Company yesterday said that exports of cement for 2010 thus far have outpaced that of imports under the existing duty waiver regime, which much like last year is contributing to lost revenue to the Government and the local manufacturer.

The cement manufacturer contends that the tariff-free regime is not justified as it has the ability to fully supply the local market while the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) had denied the Jamaican government the extension of the waiver on cement duty in the first place.

“So far for 2010, Carib Cement has exported almost 31,000 tonnes of cement while 21,000 tonnes have been imported,” said Carib in a release issued yesterday. “This clearly demonstrates the company’s ability to supply the local market and further questions the appropriateness of the granting of the waiver on the slag cement.”

Carib Cement had suffered a loss of $144.5 million in 2009, which the cement maker attributes to the decline in the domestic market and the presence of tariff-free imported cement.

“On many occasions, the company has been faced with full silos and warehouses and production stoppages and has had to focus its attention on the export market,” it added. “In 2009, Carib Cement’s export was seven times the amount it exported in 2008 and 1.5 times the total amount of tariff-free cement imported into Jamaica.”

Carib said it wrote to the finance minister seeking clarification on the granting of the waiver of the Common External Tariff (CET) on imported slag cement after September 9, 2009 when the waiver of the CET on imported cement expired.

Added Carib Cement: “A waiver of payment and collection of the CET without approval from COTED was a violation of the Treaty of Chaguaramas and went against the spirit and intent of the Letter of Intent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from the Government of Jamaica.”

The local manufacturer estimates that the Jamaican government forego $360 million in duties on cement last year and projects that the Government will lose a further $100 million should it maintain the waiver this year.