Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), have expressed worry over persistent increases in cement prices and has called for a national action to curb the trend.
According to local cement manufacturers, the prices of the product keeps going up because of the continuous hike in the international price of raw materials such as clinker, which is a major component in the production of cement.
Manufacturers have predicted an increase in the price of cement by the end of the year if urgent steps are not taken to review, suspend or scrap some taxes and levies which affect the production cost build-up.
A bag of cement is currently sold for GH¢50, but that is set to hit GH¢60 in the coming months according to manufacturers who are are in dire circumstances and have been forced to sacrifice their returns and plough back to stay in business, a situation that is gradually reaching a tipping point.
Speaking on Plan B FM ‘Ebaanosen’ with Bohyeba Afriyie, President of GUTA Dr. Joseph Obeng said the surge in the price of raw materials within the last 8 months has been a big challenge for the cement industry.
“The manufactures have had to absorb a lot of the cost to keep prices at the current rate; but if government does not roll out measures to help mitigate the cost build-up, they will have no option other than to allow the price to take its natural course, a development that would be dire not only for them but also the economy” he said.
“Indeed, clinker price has increased during the first half of 2021, and it’s expected to continue to surge. Consequently, despite the efforts to contain this raw materials’ challenge, the cement price has increased astronomically during the first half of 2021. It is important to mention that this is even not considering the forecast of raw materials prices, which could reach 100% of the increase. That will continue to affect the cement price, unfortunately,” he added.
He further called on government to support local manufacturers and make effort to assist in easing the production cost of the cement products.
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