…Records Hike In Cement Price

Price of the various brands of cement in Enugu State have increased slightly by between three per cent and 10 per cent, a market survey has shown.

The survey conducted by The Tide source in some parts of the state last Thursday showed that the price ofDangote Cement increased from Nl,550 to Nl,700.

The BUA brand of cement now sells for Nl,750 as against Nl,600 that it sold a week ago, while the UNICEM brand now sells for Nl,550 up from Nl,500 last week.

The source reports that the situation was worse at the 9th Mile Comer, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, where cement is scarce, as only two shops had the product.

Traders at the Timber Market, Abakpa Nike in Enugu said that only one truck load of cement arrived in the market this week, as against between four and five trucks that used to off-load weekly.

It was a similar story at the Kenyatta Market Garki Market and Awkunanaw Market, all in

Enugu, as they witnessed low supply of the  product in the past two weeks.

Some of the traders, who spoke to the source attributed the problem to low production experienced by

manufacturers.

According to Mr Paulinus Nnagbo, a cement dealer at Abakpa Nike, we have not received any supply from Dangote Cement in the past two weeks.

“We heard that they have a problem at the factory. It is really adversely affecting our sales as many of us have run out of stock,” Nnagbo said.

Mr Robinson Udeh, a seller at 9th Mile Market, complained that the development was unhealthy as it would affect the economy.

“If nothing is done about this situation, it will affect a lot of things, especially the economy. It is high time Nkalagu Cement factory was revived to save the situation,” Udeh said.

Meanwhile, the high cost of cement had affected the cost of blocks in the market, as the six inch block now sells for between N90 and N95 as against M85.

The nine inch block, had now risen from N100 to N110.