Govt did not ban coal exports, Tancoal Energy says

Dar es Salaam. Tancoal Energy Limited has said the government did not impose a ban on coal exports, contrary to media reports.

Speaking to The Citizen Saturday, Tancoal chief executive officer James Shedd said the media misquoted Trade, Industry and Investment deputy minister Stellah Manyanya on the matter.

During her meeting with coal and cement stakeholders this week, the deputy minister urged manufacturers to ensure adequate supply to the local market first.

Mr Shedd said: “The deputy minister was misquoted…actually she only advised us to prioritise the local market; she didn’t say the government was baning the exportation of coal.

The deputy minister met with stakeholders from cement producers, and representatives from the coal industry and public institutions on Wednesday.

The meeting was aimed at addressing the recent shortage of cement, which resulted in a hike in consumer prices. There had been suggestions the cement problem was caused by the shortage of coal.

Coal is cheaper than electricity in industrial manufacturing.

However, Mr Shedd told The Citizen it was not the case. He explained: “The cement scarcity isn’t caused by shortage of coal; the fact is that two cement producers have stop production to undergo maintenance, which is routine practice.”

Currently, the largest producers of cement are Tanga Cement, Portland Cement (TPCC), Lake Cement and Dangote Cement – churning out a combined total of 10.8 million tonnes of cement yearly. However, local consumption of the product is only 4.87 million tonnes.

During the shortage in recent days, the retail sale price of cement increased to Sh22,000 for a 50-kilo bag, up from Sh12,000.

Tancoal Energy Ltd – the largest coal producer in Tanzania – exports coal to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi among others, according to Mr Shedd. He allayed fears that there would be a disruption in business. Tancoal Energy Limited was established to explore and develop the vast Ngaka coal fields located near Songea.

The Eighth Tanzania Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Report (TEIT) showed that coal production from July 2015 to June 2016 declined to 240,772.82 tonnes valued $9.467 million.