Displaying items by tag: Price
India: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) says that rising cement prices threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s affordable residential construction scheme 'Housing for All.’ Nandu Belani, president of the Bengal chapter of CREDAI, said that his organisation had no choice but to pass rising prices on to consumers, according to the Times of India. CREDAI has also accused cement producers of ‘profiteering’ and alleged that they have formed a cartel. The developers argue that the cost of cement production has fallen following the introduction of various government subsidies.
India: A Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), Telangana Real Estate Developers’ Association (TREDA), Builders Association of India (BAI), Telangana Builders Federation (TBF), Telangana Developers Association (TDA) and other small and big member groups has reacted angrily against a 60% increase in the price of cement in Telangana. The group has described the rise as ‘unjustified’ and has asked cement producers to rescind the increase, according to the Hindu newspaper. S Ram Reddy, president of CREDAI and chairman of the JAC said that fuel and power costs had not increased for cement producers. He added that the JAC had failed to obtain a response from the Cement Manufacturers Association on the issue. The developers are considering options including importing cement into the state from the international market. They are also planning to meet Prime Minister Modi with a request to constitute a body to regulate the cement industry.
Ivory Coast copes with cement shortage
27 March 2017Ivory Coast: Cement prices have risen sharply following a housing boom, congestion in transport links and renovation work at the port in Abidjan. The Association of Cement Producers of Cote d'Ivoire (APCCI) has also blamed a lack of vehicles due to competition with the coffee and cocoa markets, according to Financial Afrik. The association has called for haulers and dealers to exercise ‘restraint’ when setting prices. The country has a cement production capacity of 4.15Mt/yr according to the APCCI. The local market is currently estimated to be 3.6Mt/yr.
Smuggled cement from Nigeria dropping price in Cameroon
08 February 2017Cameroon: Cement illegally smuggled across the border from Nigeria to northern Cameroon has lowered the price of cement by 20% in the north of the country. Dangote branded cement is allegedly being smuggled into the country despite a ban on imports, according to the Business in Cameroon journal. The situation is causing a price disparity of up to 40% between the north and the south of the country. Cameroon restricted imports of cement following the construction of new plants.
Cement producers asked to reduce prices in Assam
22 August 2016India: Cement producers have been asked to reduce their prices in Assam following an intervention by the state’s chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The official held meetings with 25 companies following reports of 10% local price rises in the last three months. Sonowal asked the producers why their prices had risen so fast and affirmed his administration’s commitment to stabilising the prices of commodities, according to the Times of India.
Department of Trade and Industry ask Philippines cement producers to explain price disparity
18 July 2016Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has asked cement producers to explain differences in cement prices in certain areas of the country. Price monitoring by the DTI has spotted discrepancies between the high price of cement in Region XII, specifically in Cotabato City, and the National Capitol Region compared to a relative low price in Cebu since January 2016, according to the Philippines Star newspaper.
The DTI has asked cement producers, including Holcim Philippines, Eagle Cement Corp., Lafarge Republic and Cemex Philippines to respond about the prices of their local brands Holcim Excel, Advance, Republic, and Rizal and Apo, respectively. Cement traders such as Bojourno Trading, Summit Koncrete Products and Cohaco Merchandising & Development have also been requested to submit their response for the prices of the imported Halong, Thang Long and Conch cement brands.
Real estate body to boycott Shree Cement
12 July 2016India: The National Capital Region (NCR) division of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) has decided to boycott Shree Cement due to complaints of alleged inconsistent price increases and shortages of cement. The property body also intends to file a complaint with the Competition Commission of India, according to the Economic Times newspaper.
“Shree Cement is arbitrarily increasing prices and stopping supply in between, demanding a price revision, despite taking an advance,” said a CREDAI NCR spokesperson. “Through excuses such as plant not functioning properly and issues with transportation these companies are not meeting the delivery deadlines, thereby affecting the builders’ construction timelines.”
The NCR CREDAI previously stopped using cement from UltraTech and Lafarge, on alleged grounds of cartelisation and malpractices. However it reversed this decision when the cement producers reduced their prices. Shree Cement has not commented on the matter.
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service leads discussion on cement pricing and mandatory certification
26 May 2016Russia: The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has held a meeting to discuss cement pricing and mandatory certification. Representatives of FAS, cement producers, industry associations and government authorities - including the Ministry of Economic Development, the Federal Accreditation Service, the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology, the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Industry and Trade - took part in the event on 17 May 2016.
Attendees reported that the pricing of bulk cement to industrial customers had increased slightly due to seasonal demand. FAS had received a growing number of complaints about rising prices from purchasers of bagged cement. To counter this, FAS has proposed using points of sale for bagged cement with the intention to remove intermediaries from the supply chain and cut costs.
On mandatory cement certification the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology and the Ministry of Economic Development reported that over 50 cement plants in Russia and several Belarusian cement producers have certified their products. However, some cement importers have experienced difficulties with certification. FAS agreed to coordinate the forwarding of issues importers and other producers have experienced to the supervising body. It will also draft proposals on amendments to the certification. Mandatory cement certification came into force on 7 March 2016 due to No. 930 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Dangote Cement faces investigation in Ghana
03 February 2016Ghana: The Ghanaian Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has announced that it will investigate Dangote Cement's operations, following allegations of predatory pricing made by Diamond Cement, according to the This Day newspaper. A ministry spokesman said that it was looking at the 'price of input' in manufacturing cement.
"There was no way Dangote could produce in Nigeria, bring goods into Ghana, pay tariffs and still sell at a price lower than Diamond Cement," said Ahmad Nasir, Deputy Communications Manager at the MTI. Diamond Cement are reported to have complained that competition from Dangote has reduced its cement production from 1.8 million bags to 1.3 million bags.
UK Competition and Markets Authority publishes final cement price announcement order
28 January 2016UK: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a final order affecting the suppliers of cement and cementitious products in Great Britain (GB). The order sets out these suppliers will be prohibited from sending generic price announcement letters to their customers. Instead, any price announcement letter will have to be specific and relevant to the customer receiving it, including setting out the last unit price paid, the new unit price and specific details of other charges that apply to the customer. The order is effective from 23 January 2016.
The order results from the Competition Commissions (CC) investigation into the supply or acquisition of aggregates, cement and ready-mix concrete in GB, which required Lafarge Tarmac to sell one of its cement plants and Hanson to sell one of its ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) plants to enhance competition in the cement and GGBS markets. The CC also said that it would implement two further remedy measures aimed at reducing transparency in the GB cement markets, comprising a prohibition on generic cement price announcements and restrictions on the disclosure and publication of market data.