Cement prices are expected to be increased from next week.
JOYBUSINESS news reports that the wholesale price of 50 Kilo Bag is expected to hit GH¢68.00 from the current price of GH¢59.00.
Why the increase?
According to some of the major manufacturers in the country, the action has been influenced by a sudden rise in the cost of operations from July 2022 due to the sharp depreciation in the Ghana cedi’s value over the past month.
Officials at one of the manufacturing firms have told JOYBUSINESS that, “when the factory price (wholesale price), for a 50 kilogram was around GH¢59.00, that was based on an exchange rate of around GH¢7.60 pesewas in June this year”.
The rising cost of operations
However, based on the fact that most of them had to import some of the raw materials at a dollar rate of more than GH¢9.00 now, “someone has to take care of this sudden increase in cost”.
Some of them have also told Joy Business news that because it has been very difficult to absorb all these rising costs of operations, there is a need to share some of the burdens with consumers.
This might be the second time in less than three months that the price of the product has gone up due to what the manufacturers say is the rising cost of production.
Impact on Housing Industry
The development may impact the prices of houses in the short term and the personal budget of many individuals who are currently putting up houses in the country. It could also impact on the cost of ongoing construction projects.
Reducing Cement prices
Manufactures had in recent times pushed for the government to take a second look at the taxes on the inputs and charges at Ghana’s ports.
They hope that could help the situation, especially when it comes to reducing the price of cement. But this didn’t get the needed attention from Government. These manufacturers hoped that reviewing some of these charges at the ports could have slowed the hikes recorded in recent times.
