Cost of cement to go up soon

The Arawak Cement Company will be raising the price of cement “imminently, not before next week”.  A source at the company told local press that the increase would be to the order of 12 per cent to15 per cent – “closer to 15”.  He added this was the first price “adjustment” for cement since 2000, and was because of a rise in labour and fuel costs.

Building material suppliers are advising consumers to expect a rise in the cost of construction.

“Everything will have to go up,” said Sydney Richards, production manager of Rayside Construction Limited, who said he had heard of the imminent rise in prices “through the grapevine...We can’t absorb that amount,” he said.

“A 15 per cent increase in any commodity is very expensive,” he said. “We will have to adjust our prices to suit.”

Richards said the increase would be “a real problem” for “the ordinary man” building his home.  “It depends on the volume of concrete a person would be taking,” he added.