KUCHING (Feb 12): CMS Cement Industries Sdn Bhd (CMSCI) today announced that cement prices will increase by an average of 10 per cent, subject to product type and location, effective Feb 17.
It said the price adjustment was due to significant and sustained rising cost of raw and packaging materials and freight charges.
“Over the year, cement production cost has increased by an average of nine per cent and in view of the current macro-environment, CMSCI expects its production costs to continue on an upward trend.
“CMSCI has had to raise the price of cement after absorbing cost increases over the last six years as there has been a steep rise in global dry bulk freight rates.
“The benchmark Baltic Dry Index showed rates having risen by 64 per cent last year while the sack kraft paper index has risen by 33 per cent during the same period, which in turn has increased packaging costs for the cement industry,” said the wholly-owned subsidiary of Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMS) in a statement.
Following price adjustments, the average unit price of cement in Sarawak remains competitive compared with other regions in Malaysia, especially now as prices of cement in both Sabah and the Peninsular have been increasing over the last several months.
As a further comparison, the prices of other building materials such as steel have also surged across the board since January last year.
The Building Materials Cost Index (BCI) has increased by 2.3 per cent in Peninsular Malaysia, while the BCI saw increases of 2.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent in Sabah and Sarawak respectively during this period.
It added that since 2016, CMSCI has maintained the selling price of cement and absorbed any increases in production costs due to its commitment in supporting the development and growth of Sarawak’s infrastructure.
However, the recent rise in costs makes increasing the price of cement unavoidable in order to sustain the quality of its products and services.
CMSCI said it intends to maintain its customer-centric and supplier-focused role as the leading provider of quality cement in Sarawak while sustaining excellence in operations.
Moving forward, it plans to further expand its range of eco-friendly cement products in the market.
In addition to the Portland Limestone Cement (PLC 32.5N) launched in 2019, CMSCI will also be launching the Portland Composite Cement (PCC 42.5N) in the second half of the year.
PCC 42.5N is categorised as blended cement and features the same strength class as the Portland Cement 42.5N.
Through these product offerings, CMSCI is able to provide customers with a range of cement product types to meet their various project requirements at different price points.
At the Group level, CMS remains committed to supporting Sarawak’s development plans including the vision of becoming a developed state by 2030.
“As one of the key local private sector investors and a major supplier of construction materials and services in the state, the Group reassures all stakeholders that the price adjustment was only implemented after careful deliberations.”