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TRADE
Secretary Peter Favila threatened local cement
manufacturers with a flood of imported cement to lower
prices if they could not satisfactorily explain or
justify the rise in their prices in the past few weeks.
“They are saying sales is low, so why are they raising
their prices?”
Favila,
speaking to the press Monday night, said he is bothered
by the spikes in prices especially now that the
construction season is coming. He mentioned North Luzon
from where he received reports the price of a
40-kilogram bag of cement has risen to as high as P200.
The
trade department has monitored cement prices rising by
up to P5 per bag in different areas of the country.
He is
now arranging a meeting with local cement manufacturers
so he can hear their reasons for the price adjustments.
The dealers have told him they are not responsible for
the increases since their margin today is just the same
as in the past before the price rises.
As much
as possible, Favila said, he does not want government to
intervene with the pricing mechanism of commodities; but
he said he would be forced to import cement—the same
tack when he ordered the importation of sugar after its
prices also unduly rose last year—if only to bring down
cement prices. “I will see if there are economic reasons
for it. If I am not convinced, we may have to
intervene.”
If it
comes to that, government will import from fellow Asean
countries where there is plenty, he added. |
