Cement dealers announced that the price of the construction material has hit N6000.
Retailers across the country recently increased the price of cement and related products.
There were different opinions about the reasons for the increase in interest rates.
While some retailers blamed higher logistics and transport costs due to the removal of fuel subsidy for the recent rise, traders blamed manufacturers for raising ex-factory prices.
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Kate Janet, a seller in Lafuwape, Ogun State, said:
“This development surprised us as we could not ascertain the reason behind the sudden price change. Last Tuesday, we sold 50kg bags for N4,600 and N4,700 and it was only on Wednesday morning that we heard from the factory that the price had gone up. A 50kg bag of popular products is priced at N5,000 per bag while the other is N4 to 900 per bag.”
She revealed that in the past, most manufacturers blamed the price volatility of cement products on high production costs, rising freight rates, and high electricity costs.
She said:
“The recent increase in fuel price has doubled the impact on housing production, cost of transportation and distribution of the products to all parts of the country.”
Another trader in Ikeja, Lagos told newsmen:
“The people that usually help us to offload the product from the truck don’t want to settle for what we used to pay them. They are complaining of the high cost of living and demanding higher pay for their services. And the question we must ask is who will bear the cost? We have to add all that logistics to the price of the product to maximise profit at the end of the day.”
Clement Achibong, a cement trader in Akoka, Lagos, also disclosed that cement prices have increased by N150 in one week.
Achibong explained a 50kg bag which was previously priced at N4,850 was N5,000 per bag before the development.
He said the latest price corrections came from the cement factories. He said, however, that the reason for the sudden change in the prices of goods is not disclosed.
Achibong said:
“Speculation suggests that the surge in cement prices Oi, no official statement has been released by producers on the matter.”
