Market survey has revealed a significant reduction in the price of cement across cities in Nigeria, regardless of the brand.
According to the survey in January 2024, a 50kg bag of cement, was sold as high as N15,000 per bag and now has crashed to N7,000 and N8,000, depending on the location and brand.
A dealer in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, told Naija News that a 50kg bag of cement currently sells between N7,000 and N7,200 depending on brand and location.
Some marketers who spoke with Legit also attributed the reduction in price to various factors, including meetings with the federal government, low demand and stronger naira, which forced manufacturers to reduce their prices and, therefore, led to a reduction in ex-depot prices for retailers as well.
A dealer in the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos, identified as Olayinka Olaniyi, said sales are picking up with the reduced price after consumers initially shunned buying cement due to the high cost.
“At a point, Nigerians stopped buying due to the high price of N15,000. I am sure most dealers ran at a loss then because we had mainly old stocks which we wanted to offload quickly; he said.
He confirmed that currently, the product sells for between N7,500 and N8,000, depending on the brand and the demand for the brand.
Another seller, Justice Ike, in the Ogba area of Ikeja, corroborated Olaniyi’s submission on the crash of cement prices in Lagos.
He pointed out that the recent crash in the dollar to naira rate also accounts for the reduced price of cement.
“We know that the naira is doing well against the dollar now, and it would be absurd if manufacturers continued to sell the product at the old prices. “I also believe that the Federal Government’s intervention and the threat to license more importers may have worked, leading to the reduction in price,” he said.
John Ikechukwu, a major distributor in Owerri, told the platform in a telephone interview that cement sells for about N9,000 in the southeast, and the price is crashing due to low patronage.
He added that the appreciation of naira against doller responsible for the reduced price of cement.
“People are backing off now due to the high price, but it is beginning to come down now,” he confirmed.
