BUA Cement’s chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has revealed that the company reduced the price of a bag of cement to N3,500, but dealers exploited this by selling it at inflated prices of N7,000 to N8,000 per bag. Rabiu stated that BUA Cement sold over a million tons of cement at N3,500, but the dealers’ actions forced the company to reverse its prices due to the devaluation of the naira, exchange rate volatility, and increased business operation costs.
Rabiu emphasized that the current high price of cement is not due to manufacturers’ greed but rather foreign exchange fluctuations, diesel, LNG, and spare parts costs. He noted that other manufacturers were not willing to reduce prices, leaving BUA Cement alone in its initial effort to make the product affordable.
This development highlights the challenges in Nigeria’s cement industry, where price manipulation and exploitation by dealers can hinder efforts to make essential building materials affordable for consumers. The situation underscores the need for regulatory measures to ensure fair pricing and protect consumers from exploitation.
