Replying to a question, he said that the government has allowed import of cement on the pretext that cement manufacturers had establish a cartel and did not allow the prices to go down.
He said that after allowing import of cement not a single bag has been imported due to high import cost--Rs 265 to Rs 270 per bag. No cement is available in international market for import, he added.
Replying to another question, he said that cement manufactures are ready to pass on the excise duty abolishing benefits to consumers.
Defending the increase in cement prices, he said that furnace oil prices have gone up from Rs 12,000 per ton to Rs 24,000 per ton; and the price of local coal has gone up from Rs 400 per ton to Rs 2500; and the price of imported oil has gone up from 48 dollars to $65 per ton. He said that mark-up rates have also gone up, whereas transportation cost has gone up from Rs 5 to Rs 11 per bag. Dadabhoy said that these are the main factors that have compelled the cement manufactures to increase the prices in a justified way.
About cement manufacturers' cartel, he denied the existence of any cartel and said that different manufacturers of cement are marketing their products at different prices. If they had a cartel they would have been selling their products at one and the same prices.
He said that total production of cement is around 19 million tons, which is likely to touch 34 million tons by the end of June 2007, and further to 44 million tons by June 2008, due to expansion and modernisation of various cement plants in the country.
He said that export of cement is a tough job. Only a few countries are importing cement, which include Afghanistan. He expressed fear that unplanned expansion in cement industry might lead this sector to disaster, like the sugar industry.