Contractors’ demand for cement has increased – minister

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo says there is a massive demand by contractors for cement to enable them execute projects.

A statement by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, quoted the minister saying that discussions between the government and cement manufacturers is being ramped up in order to meet increased demand of the commodity.

He said, “We urge the public not to embark on panic buying and storage of the product as the current market price is temporary,”

He assured the public that government will continue to be alive to its responsibility by ensuring goods and services are available at reasonable prices.

He attributed the high cost of the product to production challenges, adding that it is currently engaging stakeholders in the industry to address the issue.

He urged the public to desist from panic purchase of the product adding that Cement prices has risen by over 60 per cent in recent times, raising concerns by Nigerians and of the commodity.

The minister further blamed the hike in the price of cement on reduction in production volumes in the second and third quarters of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EndSARS protests as well as downtimes in some manufacturing plants.

Adebayo said the development affected the volume of stockpile in the supply chain due to the reduction of cash flow to major distributors as well as high cost of transportation.

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