Shriram TradeSatish Bhutada, Proprietor
We have been in the cement market since the last 27 years. The demand has been poor and though there are several reasons for it, the main cause is that the cost of land has gone up so much. High land costs have led to high cost of flats. The price is way beyond the reach of the common public. As a result, now that buyers are not coming, there is no money in the market, there is no new construction and so there is no new demand for cement. In my opinion, the high cost of flats has hampered the growth of housing sector and consequently, the cement industry.
Lower demand of cement has led to some peculiar challenges and problems in the market. The prices are not stable and have kept fluctuating. Speculations move the prices And this up and down pattern is affecting everybody. Since there is no unity among dealers, nothing much can be done to avoid this situation. I only hope that these things come under control in the coming years. Another thing I have noticed last year was that the market for RMC is picking up. We don´t have great expectations from 2014 but at least the next three to four months may see better cement demand and better prices.