Sunday PUNCH findings showed that the prices of cement
ranged between N3,300 and N3,500 in Lagos and Ogun States in March 2021 but
have jumped to between N6,500 and N7,000 in both states as of last week.
Dangote Cement’s Group Executive Director in charge of
Strategy, Portfolio Development, and Capital Projects, Devakumar Edwin, had in
2021 attributed the high cost of cement in Nigeria to the global rise in demand
for cement as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
“Nigeria is no exception as a combination of monetary policy
changes and low returns from the capital market has resulted in a significant
increase in construction activity. To ensure that we meet local demands, we had
to suspend exports from our recently inaugurated export terminals, thereby
foregoing dollar earnings,” he said.
In 2022, the Block and Concrete Producers Association, Enugu
State chapter, decried the continuous increase in the prices of cement and
other materials used for block production.
The President of Oriental Block and Concrete Producers
Association, Enugu State, Igwe Ukaegbu, had lamented that the continuous rise
in cement price was negatively affecting the production output of and income of
members of the association, urging the Federal Government to intervene in the
situation by granting more licenses to industrialists to produce cement.
He said, “The challenge we have is the cost of cement and
even sand. Everything is now costly. We are not making sales as we used to; so,
we are suffering. We are praying for the government to help us by bringing down
the price of cement and other materials.
“Before, one could sell 3,000 to 5,000 pieces of block in a
month; but now, before you sell 1,000 pieces of block, it is very difficult.
The cost of cement in Enugu now is N4,550 per bag. Some people are selling for
N5,000.”
In 2023, the Cement Producers Association of Nigeria warned
that the ongoing plan of the Federal Government to introduce concrete roads
will raise the price of cement to N9,000 per bag from the current price of
N5,000.
They also called on the current administration, in a
statement, to permanently address the perennial cement price hike problem by
facilitating larger participation in the cement industry, noting that Nigerians
had no business buying cement for more than N5,600 per bag.
The statement read in part, “Our findings from various parts
of the country show that cement sells for as high as N6000 per bag in the rainy
season.
“Our prediction is that it will sell for over N9,000 per bag
in the dry season, especially with the pronouncement of the Honourable Minister
of Works on cement technology and the marching order on housing by Mr President
if the government does not take proactive steps.