The Founder and chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu has stated that the price of cement and sugar in the country is high because the local production of these products could not cater to demand.
Rabiu, who made the disclosure while explaining the reason for the high cost of cement in Nigeria to newsmen in Lagos, reiterated “that Nigeria has a population of over 200 million people, while cement production, for instance for last year was under 30 million tonnes.
“These numbers according to him do not support the assertion that Nigeria has attained a self-sufficient status in cement, and that the country can now start exporting cement.
“the price of cement and sugar is high in the country today because Nigeria cement companies don’t produce enough, as demand for these products outstrips supply in the Nigerian market”.
The BUA Group Chairman further explained that the sugar industry is battling with the same issue with the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) policy in place, as Nigeria has a situation where it has only three players and there is the BIP policy which states that unless you are seen to be doing a plantation you would not be allowed to do sugar refinery.
