Ministry of Commerce's decision to intervene in cement prices

There has been an intervention from the Ministry of Commerce to increase cement prices quite a lot recently. The Ministry of Trade, which finds the demands of the construction sector justified, announced that they will introduce some measures into practice.

15.01.2023 - 09:30

The cement sector and the construction sector have been coming into conflict frequently in the last 2 years. Representatives of the construction industry are complaining, claiming that there are unfair price increases in cement prices. The cement sector, on the other hand, is defending the rising prices as a result of the increase in costs. The Ministry of Commerce decided to intervene in this problem. A written statement was made from the Ministry of Trade and announced that measures would be taken on cement prices.

DECISION TO INTERVENE IN CEMENT PRICES!

In the written statement of the Ministry of Trade, it was emphasized that the construction sector has a very great importance in terms of the Turkish economy. Stating that the developments in the construction sector, which directly and indirectly affect a large number of sectors, are being followed very closely, the ministry announced that the foreign trade dimension of the issue is also being monitored.

The Ministry of Trade announced that cement and clinker exports, which are used extensively in the construction sector, are closely monitored and that the priority is to meet domestic demand. Noting that the market is being followed closely in this direction, the Ministry of Commerce reminded that they included cement and clinker products on the list of goods subject to export registration on September 4, 2021, in order to ensure that necessary measures can be taken on time.
The following statements were included in the continuation of the written statement of the Ministry of Commerce:

“There have been intense complaints to our ministry that there has been a shortage in the domestic supply of cement and clinker products recently. It has been observed that significant increases have occurred in domestic sales prices for these products, especially in the last 1-2 months. For these reasons, the necessary measures will be taken by the Ministry of Commerce in order to prevent price increases of these products and solve the domestic supply problem.”

The Ministry of Commerce also announced that if the measures to be taken do not provide relief in the market as stipulated by the ministry, it will not refrain from taking new measures in October.