Price of cements is said to be at record high in Maiduguri, Borno State.
This is allegedly as a result of the short supply of the commodity all over the city and adjoining towns.
A bag which sold for N2, 750 two weeks ago, rose to between N3, 300 and N3, 500 depending on the supplier and one’s bargaining ability.
A dealer, Yusuf Ibrahim said the rise in prices was mainly due to reduction in supply by the manufacturers who were said to have shut down some plants.
“There was noticeable reduction in supply from the factories and demand tends to increase. That is why the price is not stable but once the supply increases, there will be normalcy,” he said.
According to him, road blocks mounted by the security personnel for over a week which restricted movement of vehicles along the Maduguri to Damaturu road had further affected steady supply of the commodity and eventually the prices.
“The price per bag had risen to N3, 000 before the road closures; thereafter it kept going up. As it is, we have not received supply for about a week, though few dealers got one or two truck load of cement. Before now, we received cement supplies daily.”
He said dealers whose trucks of cements stayed too long on the road before reaching Maiduguri had to find the commodity from others at much higher prices ‘just to ensure that their clients who are mostly construction workers and contractors received their supplies.’
Proprietor of a cement brick products company and a building contractor, Hassan Lawan, said the sudden rise of cement price has changed the cost of building works and slowed a number of contracts whose handlers were expecting price reduction.
He said the price of cement bricks would also be affected by the recent development.
He said, “A 6 inch brick sells for N130 while the price for 9 inch starts from N150. The recent price increase in cement products will change price of bricks and even lower its quality.”
He said there were indications that other building materials would also increase in price because “Pop cement which sold for N4, 800 before is now N6, 000.”
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