Cement manufacturers, Dangote PLC, BUA PLC and Lafarge PLC have agreed to reduce the cost of cement on certain conditions.
They agreed to sell a 50kg bag of cement between N7,000 and N8,000, depending on location nationwide.
The manufacturers reached the agreement in a meeting with the Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Monday. They held the meeting in Abuja.
However, the manufacturers said the price drop from the current market price would depend on the fulfillment of certain government interventions.
The meeting was held amid the sudden rise in cost of cement to approximately N10,000 & N13,000 in some regions of the country.
Speaking, the Minister affirmed that the high cost of the commodity was due to smuggling, bad roads, etc.
David Umahi’s words
“The meeting discussed extensively the current prices of cement vis a vis the challenges from the manufacturers.
“They talked about their challenges: the high cost of gas, high import duties from their spare parts, bad road network.
“They also talked about the issue of cement across our borders and how it is creating scarcity and high increase.
“We agreed that the trade ministry will seek some remedies from the president on the high cost of gas and the issue of import duties.
“The manufacturers noted that the present high cost of cement in the market is very much abnormal in some locations nationwide.
“Ideally, they noted that the price to a consumer should not be more than N7,000 to N8,000 per 50 kg bag.
“Therefore, the government and the manufacturers have agreed to have their cement price nationwide between N7,000 to N8,000.
“This price depends on the locations.
“Going forward, the government advised manufacturers to set up a price monitoring mechanism.
“Manufacturers accepted to do that and sanction any of their distributors or retailers found wanting”.
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