By Binta Jaiteh
GACEM has said its cement price remain sat D285 per bag (of cement) despite the sharp increase in cement prices across the country. The price hike of bag of cement in recent days has spiked public outcry, but management of the GACEM factory in an interview disclosed that rise in prices of cement is a result of shortage of cement around the World.
Muhammed Darboe, sales and marketing manager of GACEM told this reporter that the issue doesn’t affect only The Gambia but the whole world.
He said there are lots of factors surrounding the scarcity of cement in the country “every year particularly at this moment of the year, there is always scarcity of cement simply because of demand and supply.”
“We have three players in the market which is Jah, Salam and GACEM but also, we have cement coming from Senegal. Whenever there is shortage from one player it affects the others. So in this case, the demand will be high and it will be difficult for the customers to get cement and this force the retailers to sell at high prices. But if you look at factories there out price is the same and if there is increment it is only D10 or D5,” he confirmed.
So “in the shops, some are selling at the rate of D350 per bag, but for GACEM we maintain the price D285, For the past years we don’t entertain 50 to 100 bags from the general public but this time we are encouraging everyone that if you want any amount come to GACEM directly.”
Reason for this, he said, is to help the general public, saying GACEM is being here for 27 years with specific aim of supplying cements in The Gambia and satisfy the people at large.
“Normally the threshold is 200 above but this time we are doing all our best to maintain the price on buying and selling. It is very difficult to get cement but it worth knowing also that if demand is high, increase of price will be made by retailers not at the factory level,” Mr Darboe explained.
However, there is government policy too as regarding price escalation as there are bodies responsible for that “but we cannot stop anybody who sells at D350,” he added.
