Caribbean Cement Company price hiked 9.2%

Caribbean Cement Company Limited has increased the price of bagged cement by 9.2 per cent, according to reports in the Jamaican Gleaner.

Effective today, June 1, the ex-factory price of Carib Cement Plus will be increased from J$705 to J$761.91. The new price is inclusive of the new 16.5 per cent GCT rate.

In a statement to the Jamaica Stock Exchange yesterday, Caribbean Cement advised shareholders that the rebound in sales seen towards the end of last year has not been maintained and the domestic market appears to be going into contraction once again.

At the same time, it said, in the first four months of this year oil prices continued to rise and are up 12 per cent over the end-of-year prices.

"This has translated into nine per cent increase in electricity costs and we are likely to face similar increase in our solid fuel costs when next we order," Caribbean Cement said, adding that "these increases directly impact on mining, manufacturing and distribution costs."