No SRP on cement for now – DTI chief
Credit to Author: TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD| Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 16:19:25 +0000
With prices of cement stable amid the safeguard duty imposed by the government, implementing an industry-wide suggested retail price (SRP) for the product is not a priority of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for now.
“We checked the prices. They’re almost the same. So there’s no urgency now to look into that,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said on the sidelines of an event in Batangas last week.
He said prices were still at December 2018 level or P220 per 40-kilogram (kg) bag on average. Only minimal hikes were observed, he added.
“There are some increases admittedly, but P5 increase [only],” Lopez explained.
He clarified, however, that individual cement manufacturers were imposing their own SRPs.
Earlier, the DTI said it was looking into reviewing cement prices for possible imposition of SRP to regulate prices and to prevent profiteering.
In January, it ordered a provisional safeguard duty of P8.40 per 40-kg bag — almost 4 percent of the average retail price of P220 per bag — in response to surging imports reportedly hurting the local industry.
The DTI said cement imports ballooned to over 3 million metric tons (MT) in 2017 from just 3,556 MT in 2013, while its share to total imports rose to 15 percent from only 0.02 percent during the same period.
The cement safeguard duty took effect on Feb. 9 this year and will be sustained for the next 200 days.
Currently, the Tariff Commission is probing the market impact of slapping additional tariff on cement imports. A public hearing is set on May 6 to10 this year to settle the case. Should it deem the safeguard necessary, it will recommend to the DTI the safeguard’s implementation for the next three to four years.
Republic Act 8800 or the Safeguard Measures Act protects local industries by imposing safeguard measures in case of import surge.
“Imports are still coming in. Prices are very competitive. There are [even] local producers offering lower prices than other players,” Lopez said.
The post No SRP on cement for now – DTI chief appeared first on The Manila Times Online.