The Chairman of the Association of Cement Distributors, Alhaji Abdul Razak Yahaya has expressed worry over the recent price hikes in cement products.
Alhaji Razak has said the distributors make a profit of less than GH₵2 profit on a bag of cement despite the increasing competition in the industry.
Speaking on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem Monday, he revealed the recent hike saw a GH₵10 increment by manufacturers on each bag of cement.
“The manufacturers determine the cement prices and they have attributed the increment to the cedi depreciation, taxes, import of raw materials fuel prices and other factors,” he stated.
Alhaji Razak has acknowledged the sale of cement is not a profitable business, and distributors therefore cannot explain huge profit margins.
According to him, the price increment is adversely affecting their businesses because they cannot buy the quantities they want.
“Also, the end users are not able to purchase the quantities they want due to the increment and it is worrying,” he bemoaned.
He has therefore appealed to the government to swiftly intervene and put in place measures that will cushion the manufacturers to reduce the impact on consumers.
In a related development, the Minister for Trade and Industry, K. T. Hammond, has directed the Cement Manufacturing Development Committee (CMDC) to reverse their prices immediately.
A statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Cement Manufacturers (COCMAG), Dr George Dawson-Ahmoah has said to ensure operational viability and product quality, it is necessary to adjust the prices of cement.
The Chamber has argued that, although the new prices may affect consumers, there is a need to “partially offset increased manufacturing costs due to currency devaluation and other uncontrollable factors.”
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