Muscat: Oman Cement Company (OCC) has clarified on reports regarding the hike in the prices of cement and its inability to meet the demands of the local market, which has led to the long waiting period.
At the same time, the trading of Raysut Cement Company has been suspended for not disclosing and commenting on the reason for the scarcity of cement production and its impact on the company’s financial position (if any) on the stock exchange’s website.
“OCC has made no increase in prices and the long queues of waiting trucks have been due to severe shortage of imported cement due to its high prices as well as the shortage of the supply from the local cement, which has driven those customers who used to buy cement from the neighboring countries and other local producers to buy cement from OCC,” the statement said to the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX).
“In light of this frustrated and increased demand for cement, the Company has increased its production capacity to the optimum extent possible averaging (10,000) TPD.
However, cement demand is still beyond OCC’s capabilities to meet,” the statement quoting the CEO Eng. Salm Abdullah al Hajd, said.
OCC emphasized its main role in supplying the local market with cement and confirmed its commitment to work with all its partners to provide high-quality products at reasonable prices according to the optimum production capacity possible
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion held a joint meeting in Muscat on Tuesday with departments concerned and related companies to discuss the cement shortage in some governorates of Oman.
The meeting reaffirmed that the public and private partnership is the basis of integrative action. It also stressed that opening direct channels of dialogue will contribute to understanding the needs of the market and the challenges facing Omani cement factories. One of the local factories suspended its production due to the hike costs of raw materials used in the production process.
Accordingly, Oman Cement Company announced its readiness to boost its production capacity by 10 percent to meet the local demand.
The meeting was presided over by Qais bin Mohammed al Yousuf, Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion.
Dr. Saleh bin Said Masan, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, officials and CEOs of cement factories, as well as representatives of cement import companies and distribution companies were present.
Dr. Saleh affirmed that the meeting resulted in taking several measures to ensure the availability of cement in the upcoming period in all governorates of Oman while maintaining prices.
“This can be achieved by ramping up the output of some local factories, as well as facilitating the direct import of cement from other countries to cover shortage while adhering to the standards approved in Oman,” he said.
Some citizens took to social media and said that this should be used as an opportunity to help local cement companies to boost capacity and reduce the dependence on imports.
