INDIA: High cement prices bother dealers

Abuja – Cement dealers in Abuja have decried the scarcity and high cost of the product in the country.

Mr Obinna Uzor, a dealer at the Mararaba Building Materials Market, Nasarawa State, bordering Abuja, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that the problem had a negative multiplier effect on the economy.

According to him, many cement industries, especially Dangote, are operating below full capacity due to the scarcity of black oil to power industrial machinery.

“You know that the demand for clement is always very high in the first quarter of the year; so because of the scarcity, the price has gone up.

“Before the scarcity, a bag of cement was selling at between N1,500 and N1,550, but now it sells at between N1,600 and N1,800,” he said.

Mr Emelogu Enyinna, another dealer, called on the appropriate authorities to ensure the availability of black oil to cement manufacturers to enable them to resume full production.

He argued that with adequate supply of the product to the market, it would naturally force down the prices.

Mr Samuel Kikiowo, the North-Central Area Sales Manager, Dangote Cement Factories, however, said the company had been producing at full capacity.

Kikiowo also said that the firm had not increased its factory price of N1,320 per bag in the last four years.

He blamed the scarcity of the product on the high cost of transportation due to high cost of diesel.

“I think the problem is the transportation of the product from the factories to the points of sale.

“It used to cost N50,000 to transport a truck load of cement from Obajana (in Kogi) to Abuja, but it now costs between N80,000 and N90,000,” the sales manager noted.

According to him, some of the trucks spend four days at the premises of the company before they can embark on their journey due to the lack of diesel.

Many dealers had resorted to patronising the black market for diesel to power their trucks and they must pass the extra cost to the consumers, Kikiowo said, adding that this informed the high cost of cement.

(NAN)