initiator: The problem is that these Nigerian plants don't use coal for their production.
That makes their costs too high.

Coal are you for real in this day and age

vocalprince: how d hell do u expect people to build when they can't even feed themselves! Mtcheewwwww. Aboki nkwura

Fool this is not a topic for tribal bashing ok its matters arising and cement business ok think before you write unless backhand slap go touch you from some one laptop

And a govt that is intent on reducing cement prices allows this? Dangote is holding on to his 100% mark-up, pioneer (non taxpaying) status, power sector gas prices and other advantages yet has the mouth to complain about a little bit of competition and blackmail us all by shutting down Gboko and laying off workers? Maybe his bluff should be called: end the pioneer status (it was obtained by dubious means as we have been making cement locally for over 50 years) and let him pay industrial sector prices for gas (he is an industrial user and, again, dubiously obtained the power sector classification). Contracts? ALL contracts fail to the extent that they offend public policy / good.

biodunid: And a govt that is intent on reducing cement prices allows this? Dangote is holding on to his 100% mark-up, pioneer (non taxpaying) status, power sector gas prices and other advantages yet has the mouth to complain about a little bit of competition and blackmail us all by shutting down Gboko and laying off workers? Maybe his bluff should be called: end the pioneer status (it was obtained by dubious means as we have been making cement locally for over 50 years) and let him pay industrial sector prices for gas (he is an industrial user and, again, dubiously obtained the power sector classification). Contracts? ALL contracts fail to the extent that they offend public policy / good.

And return to massive importation with the consequent effects on your country's BOP and currency. We need more players not less. If you want to neutralise Dangote safely you need more local competition. That is where government(s) come in.

bigx:

Have you run a business before? Do you know there are costs associated with production? Only government companies not focused on profits can do that.

Price wars never help any serious business.

Have u forgotten d law of demand?

Sealeddeal: Dangote want to use his antics again to push govt to accepting his approach on cement sell.he wants the federal govt to stop subsiding the product so that he will take control alone and dictate the price without competition from another source.But does it means that cement imported to SE is crippling him really?that means,SE is very vital to survivability of Dangote factory.

You better shut up. Bloody fool!
Onye amaru akukwo

Dangote has never been successful in a business where he is not a monopolist. He should learn how to survive in competition from the south easterners. Check out how woeful his Dangote sugar refinery has been performing since BUA sugar refinery started operations. He has just sold his Dangote Flour mills to a South African company cos he can't compete with Flour mills of Nigeria plc, Honeywell etc. He got a gsm licence through his company Alheri Engineering ages ago but couldn't get into the field cos there is a lot of competition.

Mr Dangote is crying just because of a minute qty from Ibeto, he should wait, when the SE turns into industrial zone and there's fierce competition, I'm sure he will close down all his manufacturing plants. This is more reason why South Easterners need to gear up. What Dangote is telling us is that he isn't capable.

what is the problem again. sackkkkkkkkkkkkkk

General Garicks: The glut in the market is seriously annoying. This is december and instead of cement price going up, it's rather coming down. People are not even cashing in on the lower prices to build their houses as they complain there is no money anywhere. The cheapest trip of stones is about N28,000. White sand is about N17,000 a trip. A tank of water is N4,000. A 2-bedroom bungalow with fencing can consume 3-trips of stones, 8-trips of sand, 6-tanks of water and about 4,500 blocks at a cost of N140 per block. Labour and supervision fees is something else. These things are costly to source. Cement dealers are really crying.

I saw this coming. It is very unhealthy to shut down our cement production plants. I normally see 20-30 Dangote trailers parked at entrance to the town waiting for dealers to pick them up. There was a time you couldn't see even one trailer as dealers scramble for anyone that arrives immediately. By this time last year, we were selling one trailer in less than one week. Now it takes one month to dispose one trailer. Dangote should look for ways to export the product or crash the price drastically so that something positive would happen soonest.

I think Dangote's main headache would be that if he reduces price in the South East, he has to do the same in other regions of the country. There's really no reason for him to reduce prices there as his brand is preferred and his prices are good enough compared with the competition. Its simply a business decision.

puffpuff: THE 4 BASIC LAWS OF DEMAND,SUPPLY AND PRICE

1)If demand increases and supply remains unchanged,there will be increase in price
2)If demand decreases and supply remains unchanged,there will be decrease in price
3)If demand remains unchanged and supply increases,there will further decrease in price
4)If demand remains unchanged and supply decreases,there will be increase in price.
**1&4 means scarcity. This can be as a result low production,govt policy, hoarding or artificial scarcity.
**2&3 means surplus(or glut as defined by Dangote). This could be function of competition,change in taste,govt policy etc

From the foregoing,it could be seen that Dangote is against PRICE REDUCTION.

Shutdown decision is an economic sabotage which our govt(apostle of local content and export)should rise up against. Better still,let the market be fully saturated with locally and globally produced products. This will leads to mass competition thus reducing price. Nobody will force him back to business when his aim of creating artificial scarcity becomes futile.

Allow economic principles to work naturally and we become a better country and citizens

You are definitely intelligent. Natural market forces will force him back into production. His action is indeed a sabotage on Nigeria but will politics allow the right thing to be done?

Why will government allow inportation of cement into the nation when we already have enough manufacturing plant that has created jobs in Nigeria , even if they want to avoid monopoly they should inpose tax on inported and subsidies local production to put them at par. Now thausands of Nigerian jobs are going to where ever those job killers are inporting from. I suspect Ibeto and burham they are the only cement in the markect with out factory in Nigeria.

Mr. Dangote cannot compete in the phase of advance tech to reduce cost of production.

initiator: The problem is that these Nigerian plants don't use coal for their production.
That makes their costs too high.

They use gas, and gas us quite cheap in Nigeria.

akpumping7720:
Have u forgotten d law of demand?

Which states that all things being equal, the demand for a product would increase per unit decrease in price.
This is not related to what I am talking about, except the producer benefits from economies of scale as a result of increased demand, price wars are the fastest way to shut any company down.

eldoradoxx: Its only in Nigeria that there is nothing like market trend that sees prices go up and down depending on market forces. Dangote has actually proved that rather than allow glut in supply force the price of cement down, he would rather mop up supply by draining the market of supply and pushing market price of cement upward. That is economic sabourtage!!! I know his reference to South East is directed at Chief Cletus Ibeto of Ibeto cement whose cement is chasing Dangote cement out of that seriously developing region. Dangote should live and let live.

Do not mind the illiterate and myopic business man; imagine a man that was given the 2nd highest Award that is for the Vice president of the country, crying because his product is competed with another citizen of the country. This crook is happy that Nigerians are suffering because of his monopoly of business in Nigeria right? All these is one of things we shall expect from the deregulated oil sector when people like Dangotes are given the license to build refineries , as we are made to believe that there will be a competition of products and prices. In India a bag of cement is sold at 150 INR which is about 450 naira, it was 100 INR, before it was increased recently to the new price.

But the giant of Africa is selling it at 2,000 Naira; still this terrorist is not satisfied. This is why the criminals that were awarded the license to build refineries turned around and become importers of refined fuel from abroad. Shame, shame, shame. GEJ, if you like fold your arms and smile like a snail that is brought out from its shell, one day soon Dangote will be dragging your Commander In Chief with you. Even ask you to make his wife the first lady, because he is a shylock investor. Ordinary people and group of people own cement producing companies in India, while in Nigeria it is only one man that is representing the ex Commander in Thieves of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. Bunch of rougues.

acidtalk: Will the workers lose their jobs?

I see Dangote running to Aso Rock to give Jonathan a Big slap on the face and insult him why the ports are still porous to still enable Cement importers bring in their goods.

In the coming months expect some reshuffling in the Customs top notch positions and a possible sacking of the Controller General of Customs.

While Dangot, Otedola, Sanusi, Okonjo, and Diezeni RULE the country, Jonathan just watches and nods his head while they make the decisions.

Na presido of Giant of Africa u dey yan about.... i dey naf

Goodgoody1: If there has been a glut why don't they reduce the price of the cement to N1,000.00 so that people can make more purchases. It will be better for him dangote reduce his price and sell more that the imported south eastern companies as said

Exactly. Reduce the price!

feelamong:

Dangote should learn how to compete and stop crying like a spoilt baby! How much cement does Ibeto import that he is crying about. He is used to enjoying monopoly from govt waivers all the time.

Is wapco lafarge not doubling their profits in recent months?

Help ma ask am Ooº°˚ ˚°ºoo

General Garicks: The glut in the market is seriously annoying. This is december and instead of cement price going up, it's rather coming down. People are not even cashing in on the lower prices to build their houses as they complain there is no money anywhere. The cheapest trip of stones is about N28,000. White sand is about N17,000 a trip. A tank of water is N4,000. A 2-bedroom bungalow with fencing can consume 3-trips of stones, 8-trips of sand, 6-tanks of water and about 4,500 blocks at a cost of N140 per block. Labour and supervision fees is something else. These things are costly to source. Cement dealers are really crying.

I saw this coming. It is very unhealthy to shut down our cement production plants. I normally see 20-30 Dangote trailers parked at entrance to the town waiting for dealers to pick them up. There was a time you couldn't see even one trailer as dealers scramble for anyone that arrives immediately. By this time last year, we were selling one trailer in less than one week. Now it takes one month to dispose one trailer. Dangote should look for ways to export the product or crash the price drastically so that something positive would happen soonest.

I think what is happening is that there is low purchasing power in the economy (No money in the economy). I doubt it is because of cement importation, that had always existed; it is more of an issue of credit crunch. I remember a friend lamenting that there is no money in the economy, and I was wondering what He was talking about Perhaps this is another sign to support his claim.