Nigerian cement producers have decided to lower the product’s price to between N7,000 and N8,000 per 50 kg, depending on the region.
The existing producers also stated that they would be willing to lower prices in the future as soon as the federal government’s intervention was completed.
This agreement was achieved during a meeting organized by Senator David Umahi, the Minister of Works, on Monday in Abuja between the Federal Government and the manufacturers.
The government and cement producers have observed that certain regions of the country are seeing unusually high cement prices right now. A 50 kg bag of cement should ideally cost between ₦7,000.00 and ₦8,000.00 at retail, according to a statement from the government.
“Therefore, the three cement manufacturers: Dangote Cement Plc, BUA Cement Plc and Larfarge Africa Plc have agreed that cement cost will not be more than between ₦7,000.00 and ₦8,000.00/50kg bag depending on the location.”
“Going forward, the government advised cement manufacturers to set up a price monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance, and manufacturers have willingly accepted to do so and to sanction any of her distributors or retailers found wanting.
“The government expects the agreed price to drop after securing government’s interventions on the challenges of the manufacturers on gas, import duty, smuggling, and better road network. The meeting agreed to reconvene in 30 days to review progress made,” it added.
Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, was also present at the meeting. According to Uzoka-Anite, attempts are being undertaken to address the fundamental causes of the sudden spike in commodities prices.