The Minister for Trade and Industry has disclosed cabinet and the economic management team are currently considering a series of measures to address the hike in the price of cement.
Mr. Alan Kyerematen made the disclosure on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, when he responded to a question on the galloping cement prices that stood in the name of the member for Bole Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana.
Both internal and external factors, he said, have caused the increases in the price of cement.
According to him, the cost of the basic raw material for the production of cement, clinker has experienced a significant increase in the recent past.
This situation, he said, has also been compounded by the cost of freight globally that has been occasioned by largely disruption in the global supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Further, the depreciation of our local currency against the United States dollars and the increase in prices of petroleum products as well as the cost of electricity have also contributed to the high cost of production of cement.”
“In addition, the supply of bags for cement has also been disrupted as a result of the conflict. All these factors have accounted for the increases in the prices of cement on the local market,” he said.
The member argued comparative analysis of the price of cement within Africa indicates in Nigeria it is sold at an equivalent of US$5.1 and in Zambia, $5.95.
“In Ghana as we speak the price of cement is about $7.2 and if the Ukraine-Russia war, as well as COVID 19, are the reasons, something could have been done about it,” he said.
The Minister, however, argued the prices quoted by the MP in his analysis are not consistent with the records that the Ministry has in respect of the ex-factory prices.