The retail price of cement has soared to over Rs.400 per 50-kg bag, causing a lot of heartburn among builders, who feel that the government must step in to do something as has been done in other States.
The retail price of cement in Kochi was higher, about Rs.200 per bag, compared with that in other States, said a cement dealer here, who said that the cement companies were taking advantage of the non-intervention by the State government.
The dealer also said that the price had gone up because the companies had stopped giving the dealers any discount as had been the earlier practice. The companies had not raised the invoice price, he said.
“The cement companies have stopped providing the benefits that were offered earlier. Even the payments that are due to the dealers from the companies for the last year have been held up,” he said.
An office-bearer of the Kochi branch of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India said that the association had not met any government officials so far on the issue and was watching the price situation.
The dealers also said cement companies had a free run as there was no alternative as production at the State-owned cement company, Malabar Cements, was quite uncertain. The Cherthala plant has been down for about two months now.
