Nepal and its Cement Industry Crackdown

In Nepal, cement producers are scrambling to meet the newly implemented Nepal Standards, put in place by the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology. Only recently did the NBSM decide to become stricter in deciding which cement manufacturers were permitted to sell their products, a movement intended to weed out any companies that were using the NS logo on their products illegally, or not at all.

Four cement plants were shut down in February alone for illegal use of the Nepal Standards logo. The products did not meet the necessary standards and were therefore to be deemed poor quality; the manufacturers were Ambe, Butwal, Reliance, and Shree. The crackdown is allegedly having a positive effect: there were originally 28 cement plants who were not making use of the NS mark, and 26 have since applied for it.

44 cement manufacturers are currently present in Nepal, and collectively, they create and sell about 150 different brands. However, only 16 of these companies are NS certified; the other 28 were using the logo illegally or selling their products without it. Some manufacturers have even met the NS guidelines and acquired use of the logo, but have then used it illegally across other brands that they produce.

According to Moneylife.com, the cement industry is expected to gain traction over 2013 and 2014, so aside from the obvious reasons, it's easy to see why a cement industry would want to stay in the game. It's an industry that's soon-to-be booming in otherwise strapped economic times, and meeting quality standards puts these companies in the competitive game with Seament Holding, Holcim, and the other big players in the industry.