Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu has said that in spite of over 40 per cent recent rise in the price of cement in Nigeria, the country still retains the most affordable pricing for the commodity in Africa.
The current price of a 50kg bag of cement is now around N2350 up from N1,400, a 60% increase and has since stayed around this range. However, despite this price surge, the BUA top gun says Nigeria remains the cheapest on the continent.
“If you look at the price of cement today, vis-a-vis the price cement is selling in other countries, even in Africa, in terms of dollars, you would see that the price of cement in Nigeria today is probably the cheapest. The price we are selling today translates to less than $100 per ton. I do not believe that you can see a $100 for cement anywhere in Africa today. So, the price is not expensive, it is very competitive compared to what other countries are selling but again you would not see it because it is priced in Naira.”
“Although we have to be realistic that there are lots of inputs that may necessitate price increase but it will not be much. We are quite aware that Nigerians are suffering because the economy is not at its best, the challenges are there but again if you have an outfit you have to ensure that you survive,” Vanguard reports the CEO as saying.
However, Nigerians will not agree that this surmise is really good news as the cost of cement related services.
It is a lie.Naira vs Dollar is arbitrary. What is the percentage of minimum wage for a bag of cement?Compare this for all nations.We are not fools.
What is the percentage of cement price from the minimum wage? Naira vs Dollar is too arbitrary and unreasonable as a yardstick. Compare this for many African countries.