Cement prices are going up in Trinidad and Tobago come Monday, December 20.

The price of Premium Plus Cement will be increased by 15 per cent and Eco-cement will go up by eight per cent. Local cement manufacturer, Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) announced the increase in a letter to industry partners and stakeholders, signed by TCL Manager, Reshma Gooljar-Singh.

The letter, dated December 13, said the “marginal” price increase took into account the interest of protecting the vulnerable construction sector noting that TCL has been heavily investing in the improvement of its operational efficiencies to offset inflation and buffer the impact to consumers and construction sector.

In the letter to industry partners and stakeholders, Gooljar-Singh said the company can no longer maintain its prices, as input costs continue to rise. Gooljar-Singh said the main costs include natural gas, imported spares and raw materials needed to manufacture quality cement.

Promises to hold prices steady

In January this year, TCL said it had no plans for any immediate or short-term price increases. This came in the wake of its competitor at that time, Rock Hard, raising its cement prices after duties were increased on the import of cement and raw materials.

Months later in July, the company promised to maintain its prices despite significant losses explaining that these losses were a result of the government’s COVID-19 regulations. News of the impending price increase is not going down well with hardware owners.

When Trinidad Newsday checked with hardware dealers, some questioned the timing of the increase, which is coming five days before Christmas Day and in the midst of the pandemic, when many, including businesses and consumers, are struggling to survive.

A hardware owner commented that the T&T Government need to step in to moderate price increases on construction materials, as consumers and owners are at the mercy of these increases.

The hardware owner added that his colleague hardware owners would have no choice but to raise their prices to mitigate the increases announced by TCL. The Government, via the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has responded to the news of price increase.

Increased cement imports being allowed

The Trade Ministry, in a press release, stated that two public policy adjustments were made to allow additional volumes of extra-regional cement to enter Trinidad and Tobago, at a lower rate of duty, to ensure cement remained competitively priced.

The ministry said that when it became aware of impending cement price increases in November, Cabinet agreed to a revision of the quota and import licensing regime for cement for 2022.

The maximum quota ceiling for cement allowed for import will be set at 150,000 tonnes (an increase from 75,000 tonnes in 2021) with each existing registered importer receiving a 50 per cent increase in their quota allocation in 2022.