PinoyBusiness.ORG – Home

Manufacturers of cement in the country assured that there is no cement shortage in spite of the increase in demand for the item. Cement Manufacturer of the Philippines’ president Ernesto Ordoñez that the surge in demand for cement made it appear like there is a tight supply of the product. He pointed out though that there is no reason to be worried.

Ordoñez said, “The line is longer for trucks at cement plants because the demand is higher now last year. Another thing is that there are defects in the mill of one of the plats, so that affected production.”

He also said that cement buyers usually get their supply from the more popular brands and choose to stick with regular suppliers, creating artificial shortage. He acknowledges the peak for construction time, but reiterated that the supply is enough.

However, he declined to answer when asked if cement-makers would increase their prices because of the high demand, saying that the matter is something for individual companies to determine.

Holcim Philippines, Inc. earlier said that there is a possibility for them to increase prices, although it said that it not because of the increased demand, but rather because of the higher cost of coal, oil and electricity which comprise 60% of the company’s expenses. Holcim holds about a third of the local cement market share.

The data from the report by the National Statistics Office showed that applications for building permit in the second quarter went up by half to 37,266. It was driven by a 69% growth in residential building construction to 31,184, with the construction of non-residential buildings also picked up slightly by 3.1% to 2,792. The combined approved building permits for additions, alterations and repairs dropped by almost a fifth to 3,290.

Approved building permits for the first half rose by more than a third to 64,548. Data for last year showed a total of 96,295 building permit applications were approved, with about a quarter of which were posted in the last quarter of the year.