Mumbai cement prices down by Rs 6-8/bag

Retail cement prices in Mumbai have fallen Rs 6-8 per 50 kg bag since Monday, cement company officials said.

At present, retail cement price in the city are in the range of Rs 175-177 a bag, down from Rs 181-183 a bag.

Mumbai, which consumes nearly 450,000 tonne cement each month, is the largest retail cement market in the country.

Company officials confirmed that the Rs 3 per bag hike effected on March 2 has been rolled back due to under-cutting of prices among cement companies.

In addition to this, the pressure to push higher volumes during March, it being the last month of 2004-05 (April-March), has further led to a fall of Rs 3-5, officials said.

"Prices this week have already fallen by Rs 6-8 per bag," said a Gujarat Ambuja Cements official, adding that a further Rs 1-2 fall in prices may happen if supplies increase.

Although, a few cement companies have announced plans to raise prices by Rs 3-5 in Mumbai on Tuesday, cement stockists said the hike may not come into effect due to lacklustre demand.

"While supplies are increasing in the city, the demand has not really taken off," said a Mumbai-based cement stockist.

Not only cement companies increased supplies to the city (because of the yearend factor), new players like Sanghi Industries have also started bringing cement from Gujarat.

Sanghi Industries, according to cement stockists, have already brought four trainloads of cement to the city in a month. One trainload of around 40 wagons approximately caries 2,300 tonne of cement.