JEDDAH/MADINA: The chairman of the National Branch Committee of Cement Companies has declared that production is higher than consumption and that producers have a surplus of nine million tons. Zamil Al-Muqrin revealed the figure in the light of arrests of black market dealers as the price of a bag of cement went as high as SR25 in some parts of the Kingdom, in breach of the Ministry of Trade and Industry's set price of SR14. While Al-Muqrin blamed the price rises on individuals and firms seeking to exploit the consumer, concrete producers warned they would be forced to put their prices up within the next 18 days if the cement increases continue, a situation, they say, which could threaten the progress of government construction work projects. “The cost of some projects could run over the values set in the contracts signed with the developers executing them,” one company representative said. “Some have already raised their prices as they can't afford the losses. Our company has not yet done so and we are currently selling at a loss, but we told the Ministry of Trade that while we will try and maintain prices until the issue is properly solved. Any continued rises in the price of cement will force all concrete manufacturers to put their prices up.” While consumers have complained in recent weeks that the ministry is not doing enough to enforce its set price of SR14, police and ministry inspectors in Al-Baha arrested at the end of the week a number of black market cement salesmen for failing to comply with the order. One purchaser said that bags of cement at the Al-Baha market were going for up to SR25 as stocks were depleted. An official at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which began its recriminations earlier this week against firms selling cement above its set price by “naming and shaming” one manufacturer, said that a second firm would be named next week. The ministry has stepped up monitoring at markets in response to the recent Royal Decree tasking it with deterring price fixing by setting penalties and publicly defaming offenders “whoever they may be”. The decree instructed that a “zero tolerance” policy be maintained.
