President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has attributed the higher cost of cement in Nigeria to the country’s heavy tax burden and regulatory pressures, explaining why his company’s locally sold cement is more expensive than the same product exported abroad.
Addressing the price disparity, Dangote highlighted that exporting allows his company to sidestep several domestic taxes that significantly increase production costs.
“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.”
By removing these financial burdens, the industrialist emphasized, Nigerian cement could be priced competitively on the global stage alongside producers from Turkey, Russia, and China.
“So when you reduce all these taxes, I can afford to go and compete with the international market, with the likes of Turkey, Russia, and China,” he added.
Dangote, long an advocate of local manufacturing as a path to economic self-reliance, has repeatedly questioned why his products are often cheaper abroad than within Nigeria.
Analysts say this discrepancy underscores systemic issues in the country’s fiscal framework, which paradoxically makes it more financially viable to sell domestically produced goods internationally than to the local market.
The revelation sheds light on broader economic challenges, including how high taxation and complex regulatory requirements continue to hamper local industrial growth and competitiveness in Nigeria.
