In collaboration with cement producers including BUA, Dangote, and Larfarge, the Federal Government has established a nationwide price range of N7,000 to N8,000 for a 50kg container of cement.
Senator David Umahi declared this price modification after an extensive dialogue with prominent stakeholders in the cement sector that took place in Abuja on Monday.
Despite the agreed-upon price reduction, manufacturers stressed that the fall from current market rates is subject on the government’s commitment to addressing serious difficulties in the industry.
The programme, backed by President Bola Tinubu, seeks to address the spike in cement costs, which Senator Umahi described as exorbitant and harmful to the government’s economic growth goals.
The minister elucidated in his remarks several determinants that have contributed to the exorbitant expenses, such as illicit trade, substandard road conditions, increased energy costs, and the foreign exchange predicament.
However, he acknowledged the manufacturers’ inclination to decrease prices on the condition that these concerns are adequately resolved through government interventions.
He went on to say, “Ideally, they noted that cement price and retail price to a consumer should not cost more than between N7,000 and N8,000 per 50 kg bag of cement.”Therefore, the government and the cement manufacturers, which is Dangote Plc, BUA Plc and Lafarge Plc, have agreed to peg their cement price nationwide between N7,000 and N8,000 per 50 kg bag of cement, depending on the location. “This means that the cost is location-dependent. Going forward, the government advised manufacturers to set up a price monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance with the prices that are set today.”
In the past few weeks, the price of a 50kg bag of cement increased to an all-time high of over N9,500 across different cities in the country. The cause of the spike has been attributed to increase in energy cost and other operational expenses.