Cement: Body Blames High Cost On Manufacturers

The Cement New Entrants Forum (CNEF) last Wednesday in Abuja attributed the high prices and scarcity of cement  to the activities of some manufacturers in the industry.

Prince David  Iweta, the chairman of the forum, made the claim in a statement made available to newsmen.

“The on-going crisis of scarcity of the product and its current high price at N2,700 per bag in most part of the country, as of today is caused by the activities of some manufacturers.

“The cement manufacturers had recommended increased duty and levy of 35 per cent to push the landing cost of imported cement to N 1,700 per bag”, the statement quoted Iweta as saying.

According to him, this is to enable local manufacturers to sell their locally manufactured cement at the same price of N 1,700 as against N 500 and N700 per bag, which is the expected price for the product.

The chairman, therefore, pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan to grant the forum audience to enable it state the true position of crisis in the cement industry.

He said, “the meeting will enable us to state the true position of things in the cement industry instead of the president hearing from one section of manufacturers .

It would be recalled that Jonathan met with top five cement manufacturers in the country on Monday where he directed the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) to bring down the price of cement within 30 days.