EKET – The price of a 50 kilogramme bag of cement in Eket area of Akwa Ibom State is still as high as N1,750, a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has shown.
The current price of cement in the area has persisted, in spite of the crashing of its price to N1000 in parts of the country in recent weeks by the Dangote Cement Company.
The dealers who spoke with NAN in Eket, Onna, Nung Udoe and Esit Eket said they would exhaust their old stock at the current price before thinking of reducing the price.
Mr Anietie Assam, a dealer in Eket, said that he sold a 50 kilogramme of cement at for N1,750 because the stock he had was supplied at an old rate.
Assam, however, attributed the high price of cement in Eket to transportation cost and other logistics, adding that “after exhausting the old stock the price will come down’’.
A retailer in Udua Nka, Eket, Mr Thompson Asuqwo, also said that he would continue to sell at the prevailing price since he had not got supplies in recent times.
“Unless our suppliers reduce the price at which they sell to us, we cannot bring down the price now,’’ he said.
He said that he would reduce the price of the commodity as soon as he got supply from the company.
Another dealer in Nung Udoe, Mr Monday Effiong, commended Dangote Cement Plc for the price slash, describing it as a welcome development.
Effiong said that he bought the old stock at a high rate, noting that the new price would take some time to be effective in the area.
He said that was because the dealers had to sell out their old stock at the current price before getting new supplies.
He called on the Federal Government to also take steps that would reduce the prices of other building materials to enable more Nigerians to build their own houses.
NAN recalls that the Dangote Cement Plc on Oct. 27, announced a 40 per cent reduction in the prices of the company’s cement. (NAN)
