Floods and sand shortages force cement price cut in northern India

Cement producers in northern India are forced to cut cement prices by INR2-3 (US$0.01-0.03)/50kg bag every week due to lower demand, particularly in flood-prone states such Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal as an acute sand shortage hits the market.

Due to floods, sand recovery is not possible and in Uttar Pradesh, sand mining is completely banned, according to one official quoted in My Digital FC. In addition, the heavy rains in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal have impacted construction and building activity has slowed, lowering demand for cement. In Bihar cement deliveries were reported as down from the usual supply of 1.3Mt to 0.5Mt.