Cement scarcity hits Kwara as bag sells for N6,200

A bag of cement has hit N6,200 in Kwara State, Daily Trust can report.

The development is a sharp increase from last week when it sold for between N5,000 and N5,200.

Many distributors and retailers who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday lamented the scarcity of cement in the state despite the increased demand.

According to Hajia Lateefat Abdullahi, owner of Orire cement, “It has been difficult getting supply from distributors to satisfy customers in Ilọrin.

She said the situation was becoming frustrating as it has been difficult to get a single truck of 900 bags since Monday.

A retailer, Mr Nasiru Babatunde, said he had not been able to fulfil supplies for many customers who had placed order with some of them even making advance payment.

Speaking on the issue, a major distributor in Kwara, Mr Olatunji Ayantola, attributed the sharp increase in the price of cement to several factors.

“Officially, BUA increased the price by N750 on Monday while we await the official amount that Dangote will also come up with after its own increment.”

“What was happening before was speculation, market fluctuation and inflation. Initially, there was scarcity due to poor loading from the companies over the issue of gas which reduced delivery that created the surge we were battling with before the increments”, he added.

Mr Ayantola said, “Even when we were selling N5,200 in Kwara, some parts of the far north like Jigawa, Maiduguri and Plateau sold for N6,500 depending on the area and who is selling.

“But we may not likely experience further increase in the weeks ahead with the current market price”, he noted.

The situation comes as a disappointment for customers who hoped for price crash as a result of the announcement of BUA to sell for N3,500 per bag, last year.