Egyptian cement prices 'stable' through the year

Egyptian cement prices were considered stable through fiscal 2015 as cement companies provided their final report of monthly disclosures on cement prices to the Ministry of Supply for the month December, Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy said in a Wednesday statement.

The average cement production per week in December was recorded at 1Mt compared to an average of 989,000t per week in November, Mr Hanafy added. As part of the Ministry of Supply's attempt to ensure market fairness, Hanafy noted that the prices are fixed by many companies with Suez Cement Group reporting a price of EGP850/t, Assiut Cement EGP859/t and Beni Suef Cement EGP720/t.

While the announcement prices are made public, Saied Hagag, head of the domestic trade sector in the Ministry of Supply, said companies and agents are not prohibited from selling at lower prices on the condition that the official price reported to the Ministry is declared on the occasion of sale. Mr Hagag added that daily inspection campaigns are conducted at cement companies and factories, as well as of wholesalers and retailers, to ensure their adherence to officially reported prices. (Source: Daily News Egypt)