Traders Increase Cement Prices Again As Dangote, BUA, Lafarge Ignore Umahi's Warning
- A new market survey has revealed that the price of cement has increased despite the federal government warning
- David Umahi, Minister of Works of Nigeria, had earlier called on cement manufacturers to reduce the price to N7,000 or he would report them to President Tinubu
- Despite the warning, to the manufacturers, the average price for a 50kg bag of cement continues to rise
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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Financial Derivatives Company Limited has reported that the average price of a 50kg bag of cement has increased to N9,700 in April 2025.
The new price represents a 15.48% jump compared to the previous price of N8,400 average price in March 2024.
FDC disclosed the changes in its latest commodity update for April.
Source: Getty Images
The think-tank investment company also said that the current price of cement is now the highest level in 2025.
Dangote Cement Plc., BUA Cement, Lafarge Africa (WAPCO) Plc., Ibeto Cement Company, United Cement Company of Nigeria Ltd., Ashaka Cement, Niger Cement Company, and Eagle Cement Corporation are major players in Nigeria's cement industry, ThisDay reports.
New cement price despite Umahi's warnings
The new cement price quoted in the FDC survey comes despite the warning issued by David Umahi, the Minister of Works of Nigeria, that cement producers must slash prices to N7,000 per bag, The Sun reports.
Speaking during a meeting in February 2025 cited that the naira has stabilised at about N1,400 per dollar in the forex markets and that petrol prices have dropped, creating a conducive environment for reduced cement costs.
Umahi raised concerns that the current price of a bag of cement has remained at above N9,000, stating that since manufacturers justified price increases when the dollar was nearly N2,000, the naira's recovery means it is time for adjustments.
His words:
"Our contractors have called and complained that they wanted to move back to asphalt. We are using this medium to tell the cement manufacturers that at the time, the dollar was almost N2,000, they increased cement from N7,500.
"Why should today that the President has brought dollar to stability to about N1400, and is still going down, why should cement be selling for N9,500? We are requesting cement manufacturers to bring down the cost of cement to N7,000. If after one week they don't do that, I have to complain officially to Mr. President."
Despite the warning, no cement producer reduced the price to N7,000 per bag.
Reps issue new directives to Dangote, others
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria’s three biggest cement manufacturers - Dangote, BUA, and Lafarge Africa - recorded about N710.3 billion in the past year as hikes in sales and higher prices reduced pressures on operations.
The three manufacturers, however, incurred huge forex losses, which affected their net profits.
The firms’ total sales increased from N2.35 trillion in 2022 to N3.076 billion in 2023. Their operating expenses rose from N799.79 billion in 2022 to N910.99 billion in 2023.
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Source: Legit.ng
