Dangote Knocks Down Cement Prices By 40%

The first and potentially a game changing salvo was fired last night in a new cement price war, when Dangote Cement Group crashed its price for the 50kg bag to just N1,000.Industry watchers say this should bring relief to builders and force the hand of the competition similarly downwards.
Devakumar Edwin, Dangote Cement’s group managing director said yesterday, that the company has pegged its 32.5 cement grade at N1,000 per 50 kg bag, while the higher 42.5 grade is to sell for N1,150 per bag.Cement prices were last in that range around 2005.

The new prices, exclusive of the Value Added Tax (VAT), represent a drop of about 40 percent on the prevailing market price of the product which currently goes for about N1,700 irrespective of the grade, across the country.Edwin said the price slash underscores the company’s commitment to support the development of infrastructure around Nigeria and boost ongoing efforts by the federal and state governments to reduce the near 20 million housing deficit in Africa’s largest economy.

Industry watchers say the price slash is enabled by economies of scale, arising from increased capacity, and add that it should see demand and the margins of the manufacturers marking up...Read More