Fakoyejo Olalekan
Dangote Cement’s Group Managing Director, Arvind Pathak, has disclosed that the company is not to blame for the price retailers sell its products to customers.
Pathak in a statement said Dangote Cement sells the product at ex-factory prices of N4,010 in Okpella and N4,640 in Ibese, Objana, and Gboko.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHowever, retailers, due to transportation costs and location of delivery, raise the prices to a range between N5,000 to N5,300 per bag to reduce the cost burden of making the product available in the market.
He said there’s a difference between ex-factory prices and that of retailers in the cement market. The GMD made this known while defending the company following criticism for the high prices despite being locally manufactured.
Dangote Cement came under fire on social media, with claims that the company sells its products at higher prices compared to other countries where the products are sold.
According to the statement from Dangote Cement, while its products are sold at a range of N5,000 to N5,300 per bag in Nigeria, the cement is sold at prices between N4,997 to N 6,435 per bag in the Republic of Benin.
“Our check in Cotonou, the commercial capital of the Republic of Benin indicated that cement sells between CFA 3,495 and CFA 4,500, which at the current exchange rate of CFA 1: NGN 1.43 is between N4,997 to N 6,435 per bag”, Pathak revealed.
Nigeria is Dangote Cement’s biggest market, where the company generated N950.83 billion in revenue in the first half of 2023, with turnover rising by 17.67 per cent year-on-year from N808.03 billion posted in the same period last year.
Also, Dangote Cement recorded a 3.78 per cent increase in profit after tax, according to Prime Business Africa analysis, as net profit grew from N172.10 billion in H1 2022 to N178.60 billion this year.
