The Federal Government and major cement manufacturers in the country have pegged the price of 50kg bag of cement at between N7000 and N8000, depending on the location nationwide.

Senator David Umahi, Minis­ter of Works, made this known to newsmen after a protracted meet­ing with major cement manufac­turers in the country on Monday in Abuja.

The cement manufactur­ers came to an agreement to sell a 50kg bag of cement at a retail price of between N7000 and N8000, depend­ing on the location.

However, the manufac­turers stated that the price drop from the current mar­ket price would depend on the fulfilment of certain government interventions to ameliorate critical chal­lenges faced in the industry.

The meeting was against the backdrop of the astro­nomical increase in the price of the commodity to about N13000 in several retail stores in the Feder­al Capital Territory, Enu­gu and other parts of the country.

The meeting called by President Bola Tinubu, to find a lasting solution to the unreasonable increase, had Umahi lamenting that the price was abnormal and detrimental to economic prosperity sought after by the current administration.

Speaking, the minister said certain issues, includ­ing smuggling, bad roads, high-energy costs, and the foreign exchange crisis, caused the high price but stressed that manufactur­ers have expressed their readiness to willingly bring down the prices.

He said, “The cement manufacturers and the government have noted that the present high cost of cement in the market is abnormal in some locations nationwide.

“Ideally, they noted that cement price and retail price to a consumer should not cost more than between N7000 and N8000 per 50kg bag of cement.

“Therefore, the gov­ernment and the cement manufacturers, which is Dangote Plc, BUA Plc and Lafarge Plc, have agreed to peg their cement price nationwide between N7000 and N8000 per 50 kg bag of cement, depending on the location.

“Which means that this price depends on the loca­tion. Going forward, the government advised man­ufacturers to set up a price monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance with the prices that are set today.”

The meeting also had in attendance the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mrs. Doris Uzoka-Anite, repre­sentatives of Dangote Plc, BUA Plc and Lafarge Plc.