Carib Cement Announces Price Reduction

Effective Monday 26th October, Carib Cement will again discount its Carib Cement Plus price by $40 per 45.5 kilogram bag. The sole manufacturer of cement in Jamaica has had to take this action in an effort to bring down its mounting inventory of cement. As recently as July, the Company has had to discount its cement by $35 per bag for the same reason.

Carib Cement has been faced with full silos and warehouses for much of the year and has had to shut down its mills on numerous occasions, despite exporting more than 60,000 tonnes of cement to date. The Company stated that the presence of dumped cement in the local market has and continues to displace domestic sales. This situation is further compounded by the fact that the local market has shrunk primarily due to the effects of the global recession.

Carib Cement's Marketing Manager, Alice Hyde, has indicated that this reduction in price is to make space, so production can continue and will last until the required amount of cement is sold. The Marketing Manager also said that she hoped the reduction in price would stimulate some activity in the construction and related sectors, which in turn should mean increased sales for Carib Cement.

She also reiterated Carib Cement's commitment to sharing the benefits of increased efficiencies of the Company's more modern plant with its customers. In August, the new mill, an integral part of the Company's US$ 177 million Expansion & Modernisation Programme, was commissioned and with that Carib Cement increased its cement manufacturing capacity to 1.8 million tonnes per annum.

In February, due to the increased efficiencies of the new kiln which went into operation in August of last year, the Company was able to reduce prices outside of Kingston, making all its products throughout Jamaica available at the same price.

Carib Cement will continue to be aggressive in finding new markets for its products and fighting against the detrimental effects of dumped cement in the market place, both for its own well being and survival and for the wellness of the Jamaican economy.