Cement prices to be cut at least by ₹25 per bag in TN

Cement prices will be cut by at least ₹25 per bag of 50 kg in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu by the South Indian Cement Manufacturers’ Association (SICMA).

Deferring to the request of the Chief Minister, the cement manufacturers are willing to reduce the price to the common consumers, from the current levels, by ₹25 per bag, N Srinivasan, President of SICMA, said in a letter to the Tamil Nadu government.

N Muruganandam, Principal Secretary-Industries, government of Tamil Nadu confirmed that a communication was received from SICMA on the above price reduction on Tuesday.

Also read: Cement makers to keep prices ‘reasonable’ in TN

The price reduction comes on the back of an appeal made by the State Industry Minister Thangam Thennarasu to the cement manufacturers during a meeting on June 14. The meeting was part of the State government’s efforts to ensure reduction of prices of construction materials such as cement and steel. A few days ago, SICMA said it will make the cement available at a ‘reasonable’ and ‘acceptable’ price.

Meanwhile, Thennarasu told the State Assembly on Tuesday that the price of cement and steel was reduced after the government’s intervention, and it would be reduced further.

Cement manufacturers had indicated that the price increase of cement was inevitable for the industry’s survival due to the poor capacity utilisation on account of the impact of the pandemic. Manufacturers were also facing an all-round increase in prices of their input materials and as a result their operating costs spiked.

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