NO! Cement prices have not dropped below 100 Ghana cedis

Viral claims of cement price drop have been circulated widely on social media. The viral claims were further supported by pre-emptive news publications suggesting possible price drop due to the appreciation of the Ghana cedis.

Fakenews Ghana has verified the viral post and presents the facts below:

Claim: Cement prices have dropped to 82 and 85 GHS

Verdict: False

Explanation

There have been public calls for reduction in the price of goods and services following the recent performance of the Ghana cedis against the US Dollar. These calls have been further promoted by news publications suggesting that prices of certain goods, especially Cement, an important building material in the real estate industry, will be reduced. For example, in one article,  Awakenews, an online news portal suggested that cement prices were about to be reduced due to the recent performance of the cedi.

Parts of the story read:

“GHACEM, the state own cement manufacturing company is expected to reduced its cement price from GH₵ 120 to GH₵ 82 due to the appreciation of Ghana Cedis against the major international trading currencies”.

However, the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry in an interview on connect FM revealed that prices are yet to reduce.  “cement prices remain unchanged for now, with the lowest price per bag at GH¢110. He noted that despite the local currency’s appreciation, manufacturers and bulk distributors have yet to adjust their prices”. Another report on Citi newsroom supports this claim (see May 20 article).

Fakenews Ghana contacted four cement retailers in Spintex and can confirm that the current average price of cement has not reduced to 82 or 85 GHS.