– Senan Shah, Proprietor, Om Swastik Trading
ICR is constantly in touch with cement dealers, who are the crucial, connecting link between the manufacturer and the consumer. Dealers know the pulse of market, beat by beat. So we asked them how their business was going and what were the problems they were beset with. Here is their response, in their voice.
We have been in the market for 11 years as dealers of cement for markets in Mumbai and Gujarat. We deal with cement brands like, Bharathi Cement, Birla Shakti Cement, Binani, and JSW Cement. We deal in concrete business also.
In sales we touch all the segments of the industry. And we sell around 10,000-12,000 tonne per month. Overall, we have 70 per cent sales in institutional and 30 per cent in retail. Volume wise OPC is getting sold more, but segment wise, in retail trade PPC is going more while in RMC and projects OPC is selling more. We have our own set up of logistics and transportation. So there is no delay in stock and distribution.
As of now, infrastructure sector has to pick up for the entire economy to grow. We are very optimistic, though it may take some time. If India has to grow, cement industry and infrastructure sector have to grow. Cement has the correlation with the entire economic growth. Housing sector is very weak right now due to high inventory and low sales. A lot of projects have been announced, but the execution is not equivalent to the announcement.
In the current market scenario, cement dealers are facing with many issues. Investments have gone up drastically and returns are very low. The credits have also gone very high and margins are shrinking day by day. Overall, with an increase in price, heavy investment and the delayed payments from the clients, the scenario has become tough for the dealer.
GST will create a very good synergy in the industry. On a consumer point of view, there will be realistic pricing in the market.