Whereas leading African cement magnate, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has revealed that backward integration in cement production has saved the nation, about $2bn annually, the Chairman of BUA Cement, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, on Thursday disclosed that the price of cement may soon crash in the country.
Dangote noted that the coast is becoming clear for the price of the product to begin a downward movement considering the massive growth in excess of the nation’s annual demand.
In an interview with State House correspondents shortly after his closed door meeting with the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Rabiu revealed that the factors that contributed to the high cost of the commodity were being addressed, hence the possible crash in price before year end.
Some of the key factors he disclosed include forex crisis and high cost of Low Pour Fuel Oil.
According to him, the two factors are getting under control following the near stability of foreign exchange rate and drop in the cost of LPFO.
BUA boss noted that “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,” Rabiu noted.
