Cement prices in Egypt have dropped this month to EGP 950 per ton after it hiked to EGP 1,250 per ton in March, Ahram Online reports.

“The resumption of production at the Arish Cement Factory, the partial resumption of production at Sinai Cement, and the start of trial production at the Beni Sweif Cement Plant have all helped increase the supply of cement on the market, leading to the drop in prices,” Ahmed Al-Zeini, head of the Construction Materials Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, said.

Al-Zeini expects prices to reach EGP 850 per ton as soon as the Beni Sweif factory reaches its full capacity of 13 mn tons annually.

The USD 1.12 bn Beni Sweif Cement Plant, established by the Armed Forces is the region’s largest cement factory.

Cement traders believe that the increased price in March was due to the rising demand for cement locally and internationally coupled with limited supply, as well as the halting of production at the Sinai and Arish factories and the absence of proper controls.

“A number of cement factories have exploited the situation in Sinai resulting in the halting of production at the Arish factory to raise the price of cement,” according to a statement released by the Construction Materials Division at the Chamber of Commerce in March.

Nasser Shanab, a member of the division, suggested that factories should be forced to print prices on cement bags to prevent price manipulation.