Paraguay's Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) held a press conference with representatives of the cement sector to address the reported scarcity of cement on the market.

Vice President of Commerce, Pedro Mancuello, noted that action will be taken to ensure that there is an adequate amount of cement on the market at a suitable price for the consumer.

"We are making an alliance with the National Cement Industry (INC) with the Secretary of Defense of the Consumer (SEDECO) and the Sub-Secretariat of State Taxation to monitor and warn those companies, those businesses, those traders that want to speculate that we are going to take the measures of the case to guarantee that the provision of the cement in no case lacks and that the price is suitable for the consumer," said Mr Mancuello.

The price of cement has recently increased from PYG45,000n (US$7.6) per bag to PYG60,000 in some regions.