LAHORE, Aug 16: Cement producers have assured the federal government of ensuring stability of cement prices which, they said, ranged from Rs202 to Rs225 per bag depending upon market situation in a particular area, proximity or otherwise to the location of a plant, and brand preference.

A news release issued by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) here on Saturday said its leaders had assured the government that the benefits of enhanced capacity utilization would be passed on to consumers by way of reduced cement rates if their capacity utilization increases as a result of a higher off- take owing to the budgetary initiatives in the housing sector and enhanced outlay for infrastructure projects or improved demand of the commodity in Afghanistan.

But, the release said, the producers had told the officials in their recent meetings that “meaningful reduction in the prices of cement was possible only if the cement industry was exempted from the levy of excise duty as the government taxes comprising excise duty and GST still amounted to Rs65 per bag”.

The government has recently announced reducing the excise duty on cement by 25 per cent. The announcement was made in the budget for the current fiscal year to boost the construction industry.

APCMA has also assured the government that “it had taken steps for enhancing output to ensure availability of quality cement for local and export markets”.

It said some disruptions in the supply had taken place because of inordinate rainfall owing to difficulties in coal supplies and problems in process management as a result of use of wet coal. As many as four units had also experienced breakdowns in July.