Connect with us

Concrete

Madras HC orders CBI probe into ‘artificial cement scarcity, price fixing’

Published

on

Shares

The Madras High Court ordered a CBI enquiry into allegations of creating an artificial scarcity of cement. On hearing the petition filed by the Class I Contractors Welfare Association on Wednesday, Justice Bhavani Subbarayan directed CBI counsel Srinivasan to ??ake notice,??conduct an enquiry and file a report on June 3.

CBI to register an FIR against nine cement companies including ACC, India Cements, Ramco Cements, Ultra Tech Cement, and Lafarge for creating artificial scarcity and increasing the price to derive gains from the public and contractors. In Tamil Nadu, a bag of cement that cost Rs 385 in July 2019 now sells at Rs 420-430. This increase in the price was not based on any increase in the cost of the manufacturing materials, it claimed.

The petition said that for unlawful gains, Cement Manufacturers??Association is continuing with their unlawful acts of creating false scarcity and increasing the price through the act of cartelisation. The price of cement is rising faster than input prices and the supply of cement to the market is controlled through a tacit agreement. The manufacturers have indulged in collusive price-fixing.

‘Cement prices may go up if input cost continues to rise’: India Cements MD N Srinivasan

N Srinivasan, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of India Cement Ltd, said that the company expects cement prices to increase if the input cost continues to rise. He said that there is improvement in demand for cement in Western and Northern Indian, where lockdown is gradually being eased.

Srinivasan said that despite the second wave, the company will stick to its capital expansion plans. He is hopeful that the lockdown restrictions will be eased by mid-June, after which pent up demand will drive sales and growth.

It is noteworthy that in the fourth quarter, the cement sector witnessed a steep hike in the prices of input materials like fuel and petroleum products. Srinivasan said that if there is an increase in the input cost, we will have to increase the price.

He further added, ?? do not think there is a need to rethink the business and expansion plan for the current financial year, which includes Rs 600 crore debt reduction unless something really drastic comes up. So our capital expenditure will continue.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Concrete

Cement industry to gain from new infrastructure spending

Published

on

By

Shares

As per a news report, Karan Adani, ACC Chair, has said that he expects the cement industry to benefit from the an anticipated US$2.2tn in new public infrastructure spending between 2025 and 2030. In a statement he said that ACC has crossed the 100Mt/yr cement capacity milestone in April 2025, propelling the company to get closer to its ambitious 140Mt/yr target by the 2028 financial year. The company’s capacity corresponds to 15 per cent of an all-India installed capacity of 686Mt/yr.

Image source:https://cementplantsupplier.com/cement-manufacturing/emerging-trends-in-cement-manufacturing-technology/

Continue Reading

Concrete

AI boom drives demand, says ACA

Published

on

By

Shares

The American Cement Association projects a nearly 1Mt annual increase in US cement demand over the next three years, driven by the surge in AI data centres. Consumption by data centres is expected to grow from 247,000 tonnes in 2025 to 860,000 tonnes by 2027. With over 5,400 AI data centres currently operating and numbers forecast to exceed 6,000 by 2027, the association cautions that regulatory hurdles and labour shortages may impact the industry’s ability to meet demand.

Image source:https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1zOrih.img?w=2000&h=1362&m=4&q=79

Continue Reading

Concrete

GoldCrest Cement to build plant in India

Published

on

By

Shares

GoldCrest Cement will build a greenfield integrated plant with a 3.5Mt/yr clinker capacity and 4.5Mt/yr cement capacity. GoldCrest Cement appointed Humboldt Wedag India as engineering, procurement and construction contractor in March 2025 and targets completion by March 2027. It has signed a 40-year supply agreement with Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation for 150Mt of limestone from its upcoming Lakhpat Punrajpur mine in Gujarat.

Continue Reading

Trending News