The Ministry of Industry has not released the weekly pricing for cement, raising questions about the fate of its price amid the rising exchange rate of the dollar in the black market and the closure of banks. Following the surge in the prices of fuel, food, and medicine, will the prices of black cement follow the same trend? And to what level will the price per ton rise? Informed sources indicated via MTV that the weekly pricing has not been released to avoid causing chaos in the markets, noting that the prices in the black market do not match the official price of cement. Additionally, there is a lack of the official pricing for white cement, lime, and gypsum without knowing the reasons for this absence.
In this context, the price of a single bag of white cement reaches up to $50 in some areas of the black market, while the price per ton (equivalent to 20 bags) should not exceed $200. This new, troubled sector is compelled to operate amidst the crisis and the soaring dollar price, which highlights one of the most important productive sectors in the country. Cement is a strategic commodity essential for construction and was a cornerstone of the country's reconstruction phase in the early 1990s with the late President Rafik Hariri, and again in 2006 after the July war.
The sector has gone through several stages of growth and development, with a very high production level and expansion extending to exports abroad, especially to Syria and Iraq. Although production gradually decreased afterward, it rose again during the recent reconstruction phase witnessed in Beirut, with the construction of skyscrapers in many areas of the capital, as well as hotels and various towers. This sector experienced a significant boom, and its owners made substantial profits, but today, with the deteriorating conditions, the economic stagnation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the decline in the economic situation, production has sharply decreased, and the previously achieved profits have diminished.
However, sources maintain that this crisis is temporary and will end, especially as factories have enhanced their existing kilns and increased their numbers, adhering to the conditions set by the Ministries of Environment and Industry based on a committee assigned by the Prime Minister’s office to regulate the work of quarries and crushers. The government has allowed quarries to operate under a monthly exceptional license renewal until the owners of the three factories comply with health and environmental standards as well as reforestation and social assistance obligations towards the surrounding environment of the factories.
Given the magnitude of the challenges faced by various sectors, including the cement industry, any increase in the price of this commodity without regulation and oversight will have negative repercussions on many sectors linked to construction and will inevitably lead to a freeze in economic activity. Accordingly, all eyes are on the Ministry of Industry and how it will approach this issue, what pricing it will announce, and when?
