The British Mineral Products Association (MPA) has called on government to address the underlying competitiveness issues facing cement manufacturers. This comes after leading cement producers have long been campaigning for several key policy actions needed to level the playing field for the local cement producers and to secure the future of this industry (photo: Holcim’s 1 Mta Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire, the first dry cement plant in the UK) . Despite being one of the most energy intensive manufacturing sectors, cement is already excluded from government support such as the Energy Intensive Industries (EII) Compensation Scheme. This leaves domestic producers with energy prices much higher than those faced by overseas competitors.