Trinidad prices to come down

Trinidad Cement Ltd announced that a temporary surcharge imposed on bagged cement has been removed and that cement prices are expected to go down in the coming weeks.

Speaking to local press, Satnarine Bachew said a 42.5kg bag of cement had increased by US$13 as the company was forced to raise prices two weeks after workers began strike action on 27 February.

"The additional charge was driven by the higher cost of satisfying the local cement demand due to extenuating circumstances created by the strike (among these, the importation of cement and clinker, an intermediate product in the manufacture of cement) from other TCL Group operations in Barbados and Jamaica, administrative and other logistical challenges," he stated in a release yesterday.  

Bachew said cement prices are expect to revert to “pre-strike prices”. He added that the company’s production was back to running at full capacity, eliminating the need for imported cement and clinker.

TCL began importing bagged cement from its subsidiaries in Jamaica and Barbados, after the Oilfields' Workers Trade Union (OWTU) served strike notice following a breakdown in negotiations. The strike ended 92 days later after the OWTU requested that the matter be referred to the Industrial Court.

"There have been significant operational and financial setbacks from which we are still recovering, however, we indicated that our ex-factory prices would revert by end of July and therefore, we are duty bound to honour our word within the specified timeframe," he told the Trinidad & Tobago Express.

However, Bachew said that the company will be reviewing its pricing regime in the fourth quarter of 2012.