Price Of Cement Still High

The price of cement which rose in Calabar, Cross River, in February has remained high, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

After rising to a peak of N2,000 a bag in January, it dropped to N1,700 the following month.

But since then, NAN investigation revealed that the price had hovered between N1, 700 and N1,800 for a bag in some areas of the city.

At 8 Miles, a suburb of the metropolis, a bag of cement is sold for N1, 800 while it goes for N1,750 at Ikot Ushie area.

At the building materials section of Watt Market, the city’s main market, a bag of UNICEM brand goes for between N1, 700 and N1, 750 for those buying large quantities.

NAN also reports that the Dangote and UNICEM brands are the usual products sold by dealers in the city.

A cement dealer at Watt market, Mr Ndubuisi Egbo, said the current price of the product was high but added that it was tolerable when compared to the January rate of N2,000 per bag. “I believe the price is alright now because it has continued to slide and the product is available, which is an indication that the price may drop further,” he said.

NAN recalls that in 2010, a bag of cement was sold for between N1,300 and N1, 400 throughout the year.

Mr. Okon Ephraim, a bricklayer, said the price of the commodity had been stable for some months but regretted that the current price was still too high for the average resident.

“With this high price, it will be difficult for a poor man to build his own house,” he said.

Mr. Emmanuel Akpan, a building contractor, told NAN that the price was “ high and unbearable.” “Some of us who are small contractors are not finding it easy at all,” he said, adding that cement was available in the state and its high cost was unjustified.

He called on the state government and UNICEM company located in Calabar to tackle the high price.

But at the UNICEM factory at Mfomasin, officials of the company declined to comment on the high price of the product.

Similarly, no official of the state’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry was willing to comment on the issue.