A joint committee comprising representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, UAE Contractors Association (UCA), cement manufacturers and concrete retailers has been formed to enforce compliance on cement prices by all, according to a press release issued by the UCA.
The formation of the committee followed a meeting held by the UCA with representatives of cement factories and concrete retailers, according to a report in Gulf News. The panel will set a proper mechanism to make all cement producers, concrete companies and consumers abide by the fixed prices for a period ranging from 5 to 10 years. The meeting was chaired by Jamal Qassim Sultan, secretary general of the UCA, in the presence of Humaid Salem, the UCA general manager and representatives of the ministry, cement factories, contractors and concrete companies.
The committee has been formed to involve all producers, consumers and supervisors in maintaining the cement prices agreed by all. The committee will play a supervisory role to ensure that all concerned parties are abiding by the newly fixed prices, and punish those who violate them. It will also undertake necessary decisions to solve occasional crises that are acceptable by all. The move followed another meeting held this week between Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Minister of Economy and Commerce and the UCA, cement producers and ready-mix concrete operators, as the government is stepping up its efforts to bring down cement prices to a reasonable level. The hectic consultations came after the flare-up in the prices, which reached AED25 per cement bag recently.
The association had earlier succeeded in bringing cement producers and contractors under one roof as they all agreed to bring down the prices. The prices of cement are now between AED11.50 and AED17.
