Nepali cement producers raise prices

Nepali cement manufacturers have increased the price of their products by NPR50/bag (US$0.39/bag), due to soaring raw materials prices.

Cement manufacturers said demand at present has fallen by a notable quantity due to slow development work and low capital expenditure of the government. Increasing prices of coal and petroleum products, higher transport costs and the hike in bank interest rates have also raised production costs. 

Despite raising the price by a notable amount, cement manufacturers have maintained that they are in loss. At the new rate, the factory cost of OPC cement now reaches NPR650-675 per sack.   

There are approximately 65 cement manufacturers in the country with a cement production capacity of 25Mta. On average, local demand stands at between 400,000 sacks and 700,000 sacks, reports my Reública.