The Federal Government and cement manufacturers in the country on Monday met in Abuja on ways of cushioning the rising prices of cement.
The meeting convened by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, was attended by his counterparts from the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, including Doris Uzoka-Anite, in Abuja on Monday.
It was learnt that the meeting was held to identify the underlying reasons for the abrupt increase in commodity prices across the country.
Prices of cement, depending on the location, has been selling between N12,500 to N15,000 in the last one week, forcing many developers to abandon their sites.
At the meeting, cement Manufacturers have agreed to sell a 50kg bag of cement at a retail price between N7,000 and N8,000, depending on location nationwide.
The manufacturers, however, gave conditions to drop the current market prices.
Minister of Works, Engr. Umahi, who spoke at the end of the meeting, said the manufacturers agreed to slash their prices depending on the fulfillment of certain government interventions to ameliorate critical challenges faced in the industry.
Reading the communique, the minister said certain issues including smuggling, bad roads, high energy costs, and the Forex crisis caused the high prices but stressed that manufacturers have expressed their readiness to be willing to bring down the prices in the future.
He said, “The cement manufacturer has noted to the government that the present high cost of cement in the market is very much abnormal in some locations nationwide. Ideally, they noted that cement price, and retail price to a consumer should not cost more than between N7,000 to N8,000 per 50 kg bag of cement.
“Therefore, the government and the cement manufacturers, which are Dangote Plc, BUA Plc and Lafarge Plc have agreed to have their cement price nationwide between N7,000 to N8,000 naira per 50 kg pack of cement, depending on the locations, which means that this price depends on the locations.
“Going forward, the government advised manufacturers to set up a price monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance with the prices that are set today.”
