Starting in 2024, cheap carcinogenic cement produced in China will enter Central American countries in large quantities. (Illustration, Bloomberg)
[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] China Cement may face a new wave of controls in Honduras! Honduras will implement new cement technical specifications from October 6. All cement products will not be imported or sold locally without relevant registration. Since some cement companies with Chinese investment background have not yet obtained the product registration required by the new regulations, they may be temporarily excluded from the Honduras market.
The Honduras Department of Economic Development (SDE) stated that the companies that have obtained relevant product registrations currently include Cenosa, Argos and Duracem. As for some companies with Chinese capital background, they may not be able to sell in the Honduras market temporarily because they have not yet obtained the registration required by the new regulations, including Cementos de Honduras.
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Cementos de Honduras used to obtain permission from the Honduras government to enter the market and sell cement at lower prices. SDE pointed out that all operators must meet the same technical requirements; in the future, as long as the relevant procedures are completed, both domestic and foreign companies can participate in market competition.
According to the new regulations, cement products must meet multiple requirements including quality, product registration, certification, labeling, storage and sales. SDE stated that the relevant regulations will apply to both domestic and imported cement, and will not differ depending on the country of origin of the product. The main purpose is to establish consistent technical standards.
Eddy Ordóñez, Minister of Economic Development of Honduras, said that "Honduras is not closing the market, but is closing the door to insecure cement."
After the new regulations are officially implemented, any cement that has not obtained relevant registration will not be imported into Honduras, nor will it be sold locally. Even if the products have been shipped before the new regulations take effect and are still in transit, they will still be subject to restrictions as long as they enter the market after the regulations take effect.
It is worth noting that Chinese cement and other construction materials have entered the Central American market in large quantities in recent years and have become one of the focuses of controversy in the local construction industry. After Honduras severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan and turned to Beijing, Chinese cement was imported into the country on a large scale.
Starting in 2024, it was revealed that a large amount of cheap cement produced in China was smuggled into Central American countries. These cements use inferior raw materials, which not only poses concerns about construction safety, but has also been found to contain high levels of carcinogens.
Relevant situations not only occur in Honduras, but also involve Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Panama. Local industries have raised questions in the past about issues such as smuggling and impact on local production of imported cement from China, which has led to inter-industry tensions and disputes in some markets.
As Honduras' new cement technical specifications will be officially launched on October 6, operators who have not obtained product registration will face the situation of being unable to import and sell. This also means that if operators, including some Chinese capital enterprises, cannot complete the certification and registration procedures in time, it may be difficult to continue selling cement in the Honduras market in the short term.
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