The Chairman of BUA Cement, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, on Thursday gave an indication that the price of cement may soon crash in the country.
Rabiu said this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after he met behind closed doors with the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the factors that contributed to the high cost of the commodity were being addressed, hence the possible crash in price.
He listed the country’s foreign exchange as well as the high cost of Low Pour Fuel Oil as some of the factors responsible for high cost of cement.
He expressed delight that the forex situation has improved while the cost of LPFO has also reduced.
Rabiu said, “Cement production requires quite a lot of energy. That is quite a significant part of the cost of cement production. That has been addressed to mainly the price of oil, may be the price of LPFO that we use has come down. I’m talking about Sokoto now.
“Of course, the other cement plants scattered all over the country like may be the southern part of the country are using gas which is actually much cheaper. But for Sokoto, for example, we are using LPFO and LPFO is quite expensive.
“We have to transport it either from Lagos or from Kaduna refinery if there is availability. That, you know, from time to time, impacts on the cost.”
“But I can assure you that the three major companies producing cement in Nigeria are working very hard to see that the price of cement comes down in the very near future.
“We are trying very hard to make sure the price comes down. Of course, the foreign exchange aspect also improved dramatically. That, as we all know, was a big issue. Now, that has improved considerably.
“So, I think we will see quite a reduction in the very near future.”
Source: NAN
