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City builders start importing cement from Pakistan
CHENNAI: Builders in Chennai have started importing cement from Pakistan and a vessel carrying the first consignment of 3,000 tonnes is expected to arrive here next week. The decision to import cement from the neighbouring country comes in the wake of domestic cement prices soaring high.
Two months ago, builders in Kerala imported 400 tonnes of cement from Pakistan. "Satisfied with the quality, we've decided to import more," said Abdul Aziz, CMD of Kochi-based Skyline Builders. At a time when domestic manufacturers are selling at prices ranging from `235 to `265 a 50-kg bag, Pakistani cement will cost only `210 to `220 a bag on site for builders. "Six builders are importing cement in the first lot and more will follow suit," said T Chitty Babu, president of the Tamil Nadu chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI). Babu's Akshaya Homes is among the largest consumers of cement in Chennai market. "Our company is importing 1,250 tonnes initially. Five other builders are taking 300-500 tonnes each. In all, 20 CREDAI members in Chennai have expressed willingness to import roughly 20,000 tonnes of cement per month from Pakistan. This will fulfil only 50% of our actual demand," said Babu.
Many local builders still have concerns about quality of Pakistani cement, said CREDAI (TN) secretary N Nandakumar. "We've taken the lead to import cement to infuse confidence in other builders." Many builders don't have an import-export (IE) code, without which importing cement is not possible.
Once the import volume increases, prices could further fall, said Nandakumar adding that negotiations were on with several Pakistani manufacturers to reduce the cost. Babu expressed hope that the prices of domestic cement could fall to a realistic figure with many builders shifting to imports. The prices, which used to be `145 a 50-kg bag till three months ago, shot up to `300 a bag in a matter of days.
Builders' organizations had made repeated representations to the Centre and state seeking their intervention to rein in cement manufacturers who had cut down production to increase prices. But both did virtually nothing, said CREDAI vice-president Prakash Challa. tnn
Read more: City builders start importing cement from Pakistan - The Times of India City builders start importing cement from Pakistan - The Times of India
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