Cement boycott increases exports to Sri Lanka

Kakinada: After builders boycotted buying cement, the  industry has started exporting cement  raw material through Kakinada port.

Cement companies have begun exporting  cement clinker to Srilanka and other countries  from July 11.

Cement manufacturing companies that  have  reduced or stopped  production due to  lack of sales, are looking at other alternatives.

Sources at Kakinada Seaports Limited said that for the first time in the season 29,000 metric tonnes of cement clinker have been exported from Kakinada deep water port since July 11.  

“There was no export of cement clinker in the recent  past as it was used in the country. It  has rarely been exported,” a source aid.

Nearly 2,000 major developers  from Telangana and AP builders and 1,000 contractors formed a JAC and boycotted the purchase of cement until July 20 in protest of price hike due to alleged syndicating by cement manufacturers. 

Real estate developers association and builders associations of both the states are supporting the boycott.

“Manufactures cannot stock cement on a large scale. So they are forced to export the cement clinker which attracts  less tax,” said a port official.