Reduction in retail price of cement in Tamil Nadu is in the offing. The cement industry has agreed to make its products available to the consumers in the State at a ‘reasonable’ and ‘acceptable’ price.

In a statement issued on Saturday, South Indian Cement Manufacturers’ Association (SICMA) said that it was doing so based on the appeal made by the State Industry Minister Thangam Thennarasu and considering the difficult time people are going through due to the pandemic. The statement did not give the extent of price reduction.

SICMA, which has 25 members and represents all the cement manufacturers in South India, maintained that the price increase of cement was inevitable for the industry’s survival. It said there was an all round increase in input prices and the operating costs rose further as the factories were running at low capacity levels due to the second wave of Covid.

The association also pointed out that cement cost was only a small component of the total construction cost.

It further said that the industry was working closely with the State government to make cement available at a concessional price for the weaker section of the society.

This development comes a few days after the Industry Minister, at the instruction of Chief Minister M K Stalin, met the representatives of the cement industry on high price of the commodity in the State. The minister said he would meet other stakeholders in the construction material industry as well.

“We have referred to the cement prices in other Southern States such as Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and asked the manufacturers how the prices here were so high and told them that they should not affect the people and construction activities. They have said they would give a good answer soon…” Thennarasu had said on Wednesday after the meeting.

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