The State Ministry of Rural Housing Construction and Building Materials Industries Promotion has decided to conduct an operation to raid cement suppliers in order to recover hidden stocks.
The Ministry said a decision to conduct the raid was taken during a meeting between the State Minister of Rural Housing Construction and Building Materials Industries Promotion Indika Anuruddha, the stakeholders of the cement industry, and the officials of the Consumer Affairs Authority.
During the meeting held yesterday, it was decided to compile a list of cement suppliers and thereafter conduct the raid.
The Ministry further said that measures will also be taken by the state ministry, Finance Ministry, and the Consumer Affairs Authority to enable the sale of cement at a fair price.
Stating that some of the suppliers are hiding stocks, the Ministry said this was in order to increase the price of cement.
The Ministry also noted that there was a shortage of 100,000 Metric tons in the local market, pointing out that the total monthly stocks which Sri Lanka needs are 500,000 metric tons.
Discussing the price of cement, it was observed that the price of a 50 kg bag of cement is within the range of Rs.1500 to Rs 1700 at present, the Ministry added. (NewsWire)