By  UDEME CLEMENT

The rapid increase in the price of cement from N1,800 in December 2013 to about N2,500 now is unsettling for builders, especially those in the housing sub-sector of the economy.

Sunday Vanguard, during a visit to some block industries in Lagos learnt that the sudden increase in cement price, which is about 15 per cent took everyone in the industry by surprise.

Cement

Speaking, Mr. Sunday Imoh, the manager of Sunny Block industry at Ojodu area of Lagos, explained that the increase in cement price may be connected with the new mining levy imposed by government on cement makers in the country.

He said, “The increase in cement price now is unusual because we are already in rainy season.   Cement price is often high in dry season because that is the peak of   construction activities in the country.   The price of cement in the last few months went up by almost 25 per cent. For instance, in the last quarter of 2013, the price went up from N1,800 to about N1,200 in November .”

He went on, “The high cost of this commodity  greatly  affected people in Lagos, Ogun and other states, where construction activities witnessed unprecedented growth in recent years.

This is not the first time we are experiencing increase in cement price, because in May 2013, the price of cement rose to about N2,900 per bag.   The situation then moved the Federal Government to issue a  new directive compelling all producers in the country to cut the price”

However, Dangote Cement, said it has not increased its unit cost of cement in the past five years notwithstanding the rising cost of production.

The Director, Sales and Marketing of the company, Mr. Ekanem Etim, explained that the price of cement in the company has been stable in spite of high production cost, which include power generation and other costs associated with doing the business efficiently.

He said that aside from ensuring stable price, Dangote Cement is committed to maintaining a high standard.   To achieve this, the company embarks on regular training and retraining programmers for block makers in the country.

He said, “Cement ought to be cheap but the cost of production due to dearth of infrastructure is so huge. Consider even the cost of transportation.  Notwithstanding, the cost of moving our products to our customers is the lowest in Nigeria. In Dangote, we provide quality at a lower  price.”

In the same vein, the Chairman, Cement Manufacturers Association, Mr. Joseph Makoju, said that their members have not increase cement price in the last four to five years, despite the huge amount the spent on production, diesel and transportation.