The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that the price of cement will soon reduce as the second phase of cement policy which it is currently pursuing will address the issue of pricing.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, gave this indication while explaining why the price of cement still remained high in spite of the increase in production and availability.

Speaking Tuesday, in Abuja, during the 2013 Ministerial platform by the ministry, Aganga said what government was targeting in the first phase of the backward integration policy of cement was production and availability and that had been achieved.

“The first strategy on backward integration on cement was about availability and production of cement that has been achieved, we were spending more than N250 billion on cement importation before now.

“That number should have gone up by now and yet we have the raw materials and we were not producing, we were only producing two million metric tonnes.

“We now produce 28 million metric tonnes of cement, we now export, we have achieved availability and production.”

The Minister said the second phase of the integrated policy, which would address the issue of pricing, had just started and a committee had already been set up to work on it.

“The committee is working on it now it is about pricing, control, quality, use of cement and export.

“I can assure you that we are working on that already and we will do everything to ensure that the consumers are protected.”

It will be recalled that Nigerians have continued to buy cement at prices which observers consider exorbitant, currently, a bag of 50kg of cement costs between N1,650 and N1,800.

teeo: This is unlikely to happen because Dangote is almost holding a monopoly of the cement market.

Tolexander: Before, it was electricity,
now, it is cement, next, only God knows!

Same story, no action!

taharqa2: What is this one saying now??

Tolexander: better you use your head full of hair strands to read it instead of the armpit full of hair strands to understand!

Maxymilliano:

Most likely to happen in no distant future, the target is to be self-sufficient in cement production, every other things like price reduction and availability will follow.

Dangote only has an upper hand in the sector, there are other players like Lafarge, United Cement Company of Nigeria(UNICEM), BUA Cement et al ...

taharqa2: Agbaya....

Maxymilliano:

Most likely to happen in no distant future, the target is to be self-sufficient in cement production, every other things like price reduction and availability will follow.

Dangote only has an upper hand in the sector, there are other players like Lafarge, United Cement Company of Nigeria(UNICEM), BUA Cement et al ...

emmysenior:

It seems you have forgotten about the Ibeto saga so soon...

The cabals are bloody, selfish saboteurs, who are only concerned about their generations yet unborn... I pray this moved will not be sabotaged like the previous ones too.

teeo: This is unlikely to happen because Dangote is almost holding a monopoly of the cement market.

bebe2: Story story

Maxymilliano:

I don't see how it'll be sabotaged at this point, the current approach by the government is phased and there's already glut in cement production.

Few months ago, Dangote cement crashed the ex-factory price of a 50-kg bag of the product from N1,500 to N1,350. A step taken by the company after the directive issued by President Goodluck Jonathan in May which forced cement stakeholders to work together to bring down the price of the commodity.

From the same news I read in This Day Newspaper,
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has said rather than targeting on price reduction in cement, which he said, would not go a long way before it crashes, the federal government is targeting production and availability of the product to force the price down forever.

vallycan: Pls federal government and ministry of industry pls also consider d case of garri, kerosene, gas, nepa bills an other materials for deir prices dis days are so deadly hickin for ma living or do want to reduce our population tru dis medium cus a lot of people are complaining an dyin of starvation.... Pls just consider dis one an only facts....

Tolexander: Before, it was electricity,
now, it is cement, next, only God knows!

Same story, no action!

ebenezer4o2: Abeg,make ona no also forget the price of garri Ooº°˚˚˚°ºoO .