Cement manufacturers in the country have agreed to slash the price of the commodity to between N7,000 and N8,000 per bag after Federal Government’s intervention.
This was the resolution of a three-hour meeting between the manufacturers and a government team led by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, at the Ministry of Works headquarters in Abuja on Monday evening.
The manufacturers identified cost of gas, high import duty on spare parts, bad road network, high foreign exchange rate and the smuggling of cement across borders as factors responsible for the hike in price of cement.
The government also expected the agreed price to drop further after securing government’s interventions on the identified challenges of the manufacturers on gas, import duty, smuggling, and better road network. The communique was read by the Minister Works after the meeting.
He said: “The cement manufacturers and the Government noted that the current high price of cement is abnormal in some locations nationwide. Ideally, cement retail prices should not cost more than ₦7,000.00 to ₦8,000.00/50kg bag of cement.
