Abdulsamad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Cement, has explained how his company’s effort to cut cement prices to ₦3,500 per bag was undermined by dealers. Speaking at the 8th Annual General Meeting, Rabiu detailed that many dealers exploited the price reduction by inflating prices to ₦7,000 or ₦8,000 per bag, despite purchasing the cement from BUA at ₦3,500.
Rabiu criticized the dealers for failing to pass on the price reduction to customers and instead capitalizing on the situation for their own profit. He noted that BUA had sold over a million tons of cement at the reduced price before realizing the extent of the dealers’ manipulation.
Additionally, Rabiu attributed the difficulty in sustaining the reduced price to external economic factors such as the devaluation of the naira and the removal of the fuel subsidy. He emphasized that while BUA aimed to maintain the lower price, the actions of the dealers and economic pressures made it unsustainable.
The chairman concluded that continuing to subsidize the dealers was not viable, leading to the abandonment of the price reduction plan.