August 15: Nepali cement manufacturers have increased the price of their products by Rs 50 per sack, attributing to the soaring prices of raw materials.
There are 65 cement manufacturers in the country. Their production capacity totals 25 million tons per year. On an average, the local demand stands between 400,000 sacks to 700,000 sacks.
Cement manufacturers said the demand at present has fallen by a notable quantity due to the slow development work and low capital expenditure of the government. According to them, increasing prices of coal and petroleum products, increasing transport costs and hike in the banks’ interest rate have raised their production costs.
Despite raising the price by a notable amount, cement manufacturers have maintained that they are in loss. At the new rate, the factory cost of OPC cement now reaches Rs 650-675 per sack.
source: republica, 16 August 2022