Philippines: A shortage of cement has been reported in the Pangasinan province due to government projects, including road widening schemes, and private construction. The local Northern Cement Corp. (NCC) plant at Sison is producing around 100,000 bags per day according to the Philippines News Agency. Despite this dealers, and buyers are reporting cement shipments selling out hours after delivery, with prices spiking accordingly.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) monitoring of the NCC plant reports that 2.2 million bags were delivered by NCC in January 2016 and 1.9 million bags were delivered from 1 – 22 February 2016. The NCC is upgrading its local plant to double production to 200,000 bags per day by mid-March 2016. The DTI has asked consumers not to panic over this ‘temporary’ shortage.