India producers refute cartel allegations

Representatives from various cement companies on Friday denied that they formed a cartel to artificially hike prices, saying market dynamics decide the prices, not the companies.

There have been allegations of cartelisation and ‘unjustified’ prices in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the south of the country from builders after a steep hike in prices in the two markets recently.

"Price hikes have to be factored in the context of price volatility, escalating costs and low capacity utilisation,’’ Rakesh Singh, Executive President, India Cements Ltd, told reporters on Friday. “The industry costs have been much higher than the margins,’’ he added. (Source: Business Line, India)