Yaounde - SOCATRAL, the aluminum ware giant, has denied responsibility for the shortage of roofing sheets reported on the market in parts of the country.

Officials of the company told a group of roofing sheets producers here Friday that they have posted both an increase in production and sales over the last months and not the contrary.

At the weekend, the government pursued controls and continued to complain about the small supply of roofing sheets particularly to Yaound, blaming soaring prices partly on speculators.

But SOCATRAL officials said they had reduced not increased prices recently, blaming whatever problems experienced on the market on unequal distribution of roofing sheet producers in the country.

Work shortage in August to install new equipment could have played a role but SOCATRAL officials insisted that overall, the company has no control over the distribution of final products from its products.

SOCATRAL, an affiliate of ALUCAM, currently has an annual production of 27,000 tons. Officials say a one billion-franc investment should see that capacity raised to about 30,000 tons in two years.

The company controls about 70 percent of the market while the remaining 30 percent is in the hands of importers.

Demand is difficult to compute but SOCATRAL admits that it most have been rising steeply with the construction boom witnessed over the years.

"We knew that work stoppage would lead to a small shock on the market but that does not mean that SOCRATRAL is producing less," said general manager Emile Nguena.

"We produce more but [the market] demands more."

Since 2006, SCATRAL has increased sales by some 1,200 annually, according to company documents. This is expected to grow 5.8% this year, compared to 2008.

"Our desire is to satisfy the market," said Nguena. "The investments we have undertaken are beginning to bare fruits. The next three months should be excellent."

Last week, authorities of the ministry of trade said they had seized large stocks of roofing sheets from suspected speculators in Yaounde and sold at homologated prices.

They also blamed SOCATRAL for the small supply of roofing sheets getting into Yaounde and other parts of the centre-southern provinces.

"The problem is that all the roofing sheet producers are based in Douala and Bafoussam," said Pierre Lumière Tiefang, chief of SOCATRAL's commercial services.

“Unfortunately, we have absolutely no control over distribution. This is in the hands of our partners - the roofing sheets producers.”

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