BUA Cement Plc, in the past two days, has been inundated with calls seeking clarification as to whether it is part of a purported price increase of N300 per bag. BUA Cement wishes to inform the public, its distributors, and stakeholders that it has not and does not intend to increase its price of cement now or in the near future, barring any material, unforeseen circumstances.
Whilst we are aware that demand for cement is high with current supply levels not sufficient to meet this increased demand, we do not believe the solution lies in an increase in ex-factory prices of cement – especially not at this period. It is our strong conviction that any increase in prices of major commodities at a time like this is not right – whilst Nigerians are still trying to recover from the economic consequences brought about by the covid-19 pandemic – especially for a product for which all raw materials are locally sourced.
BUA Cement is very much aware of the fact that there is a huge difference in the ex-factory prices of Cement and the retail market prices of cement, which is mostly because of retailers taking advantage of increased cement demand to make maximum profits. Thus, any increase in ex-factory prices will be inadvertently passed down to the consumers. We stand by our previous statements that the timing is not right for any increase in the price of major commodities whilst we work towards ramping up our production capacity to ensure that commodities like cement remain accessible and affordable for our consumers.
BUA Cement therefore wishes to restate that it is not a part of the purported increase in cement prices and we once again enjoin and appeal to our distributors, who have been advised, to ensure there are no further arbitrary increases or excessive profit taking in the retail price of cement.
