Cement shortage = Higher price

Cement shortage has forced prices high as demand increases due to a booming construction industry, Numbers of potential consumers have stopped their projects as a result of increased costs.

"I suspended building my house after a cost review gave me a prohibitive budget. I am hoping that cement prices will go down further to give us a relief,"

complaining Jackson Haule in Dar es Salaam.

Retails prices of cement now stand at 14,500/- and 15,000/- for a 50 kg bag in Dar es Salaam but is more costly in the lake zone, according to reliable sources.

This however, indicates a significant drop of prices compared to some two or three months ago when prices of the item in Dar es Salaam and upcountry ranged between 16,000/- and 25,000/- for a 50-kg bad.``For most of us getting required cement consignment is still difficult.

You can place a pre-paid order to the agent and still not get your cargo in time. It takes even a week,`` said Ali Mohamed, a construction material store owner.

However, he says cement was now available in retail stores but prices are what kept people away.

It\'s the market that dictates prices but the wholesale factory price is 11,500/- per unit of cement.

But because some people need huge consignments from agents, this raises prices to levels that others can`t afford, says Mohamed as he displayed a receipt from Portland Cement Company indicating that he paid 1,160,000/- for five tonnes of cement at the factory`s wholesale prices.

But if agents had enough cement that would not force retail sellers to queue in order to get it, prices would be somewhere at around 12,500/- per 50-kg bag, he asserts.

A survey by this paper has found out that almost all stores in spotted areas have enough stocks, unlike the past.

" It`s still a problem. I ordered some 800 bags of cement and I paid in advance.

.....but I just ended up getting 400 bags only. So, the situation is not calm,`` says Felix Assey,a store owner.

Plus that this has also pushed the prices of bricks high. One brick is now sold at between 700/- and 800/-.

Dar es Salaam is mostly supplied with Twiga cement brand manufactured by its Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC) also in the city, but Tanga and Mbeya cement companies also supply Dar es Salaam although in small quantities.