The price of cement rose by 4.3-5 per cent at the end of December 2014, depending on supplier, according to the national daily La Nacion.

The first to adjust prices, by five per cent upwards, was Cemex on 22 December, followed five days later by Holcim, which increased prices by 4.3 per cent. Both companies have attributed the increase to a rise in inflation, which reached 5.13 per cent at the end of 2014.

Randall Murillo, executive director of the Costa Rican Chamber of Construction (CCC) said the adjustment is normal, but warned that cement was a key input in any project and could not be substituted.