Concern over possible cement price hike

by **hlk** Thu 26 Jul 2012, 22:46

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian housing developers and building materials distributors have expressed concern over the possibility that cement prices could go up next month.

President of the Building Materials Distributors Association of Malaysia, New Ching Liong, said he was informed by his members that the prices of cement could go up by RM1 per 50 kg bag and RM20 per metric tonne.

"So far there has been no official announcement of the increase but one of our members has received a notice from a manufacturer that the increase would take effect on Aug 1," he told Bernama when met today.

The current listed prices for cement are RM16.75 per 50kg bag and RM335 per metric tonne.

He said the association was not consulted on the matter, adding it is totally unacceptable for the manufacturers to increase the prices.

"There is no valid reason to increase the cement price and we hope the authorities especially the government could come in as mediators to resolve the issue," he said.

New said whether the prices go up or down, it does not make a difference to traders as they earn a fixed margin and usually pass any price hike to the end-users, the construction companies.

"As traders, we buy expensive and we sell expensive. The end-users such as developers, contractors and property buyers will bear the burden," said New.

Meanwhile, Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (REHDA) Immediate Past President Datuk Ng Seing Liong questioned the reasoning behind the price hike.

"Why would they suddenly want to increase the prices? Most of our members and the industry players were shocked to learn about it," he said.

He said unlike steel which rusts, cement can only be packed and stored for a limited period of time before it turns hard.

"We hope industry players are consulted before the official announcement of the increment," he said.

Among the cement players in the country are YTL Cement, Tasek Corp, CIMA Group, Lafarge, CMS Group and Holcim. -- BERNAMA